Mrvan thanks Biden 'for standing up for working men and women' after State of the Union

It has become a State of the Union tradition.

Shortly after President Joe Biden delivers his annual address on the condition of the nation and his goals for the year ahead, the Democratic chief executive is greeted on his way out of the House chamber by the congressman representing Northwest Indiana.

Last week, U.S. Rep. Frank J. Mrvan, D-Highland, once again engaged the president in an a brief one-on-one chat, just as Mrvan did with Biden following his 2023 and 2022 State of the Union speeches.

Audio and video of their conversation recorded by a C-SPAN camera crew following the president captured Mrvan reintroducing himself to Biden and reminding the president he represents Northwest Indiana.

Though Biden and Mrvan are hardly strangers. Just last month, Mrvan had the honor of introducing Biden and welcoming the president to the stage during the National Prayer Breakfast at the U.S. Capitol.

Mrvan’s exact remarks to the president Thursday are difficult to pick up due to noise in the House chamber. But Mrvan told The Times Monday that he thanked Biden for the U.S. Department of Energy selecting Northwest Indiana as a federal hydrogen hub.

"I welcomed the opportunity to highlight with the president the success of the hydrogen hub designation and how this will have a transformational impact for all current and the next generation of workers and members of organized labor in Northwest Indiana."

The designation brings with it up to $1 billion in federal funds to construct a hydrogen production facility in Whiting that aims to help industries in Indiana and Illinois reduce their carbon emissions by giving them an alternative to fossil fuels.

The Northwest Indiana hydrogen hub is expected to attract between $5 billion and $8 billion in private sector investment, on top of the federal funding, and support more than 16,000 skilled union jobs for years to come.

Biden told Mrvan he agrees it’s a very big deal.

“The amount of carbon used in steel and cement is gigantic. Gigantic. We can do something about it,” Biden said.

Mrvan then thanked the president “for standing up for working men and women.”

In response, Biden said: “Are you kidding me? If I didn’t, my grandfather would come back from heaven and kick my ass.”

Following a shared laugh, Mrvan said his father — former state Sen. Frank Mrvan, D-Hammond — would do the same to him, even at 90 years old.

“He was a state senator for 40 years fighting the good fight,” the congressman said to the president.

Biden told Mrvan that his great-grandfather also was a state senator in Pennsylvania and only the second Catholic elected to that body.

The president then asked the congressman for his father’s phone number so he could call the elder Mrvan.

Mrvan’s congressional office did not say whether Biden has placed that call yet. But Mrvan can be seen giving his father’s phone number to the president’s personal assistant as Biden moves on to greet other dignitaries.