Congressman Markwayne Mullin statement on President Obama's State of the Union address

Statement

Congressman Markwayne Mullin (OK-2) issued the following statement in response to President Obama's State of the Union annual address:

"What I heard from the President tonight was more of the same irresponsible behavior that is taking our country to the brink of economic disaster.

The President and some members of Congress in both parties wants to increase taxes which puts the government spending pressures onto the backs of hardworking, already strapped, Americans.

Presently, the government spends $1 trillion more than it takes in, the President has failed to submit his budget on time for the fourth time in the last five years and we recently learned that the economy shrank for the first time in more than three years.

President Obama paid lip service to "reasonable compromise". In fact, what he considers reasonable is more of the same tax and spend policies that have gotten us where we are today.

These policies undermine the core American values of hard work and accountability; and instead replace them with a mentality of government dependency.

The President talked about spending more money to create jobs. The reality is that government doesn't create real jobs. Real jobs are created in the private sector, and no amount of throwing the money we absolutely don't have into government-funded projects will result in the real job growth this country needs.

Congress and the President could learn a thing or two from Oklahoma farmers and ranchers. They are at the mercy of the weather, droughts and factors beyond their control. So they know when times are tough; you buckle down, work hard and make sacrifices, not go out and spend every penny in the piggy bank.

The President could learn from Main Street businesses across Oklahoma, who know that they must earn enough money to make payroll for their employees and to keep the lights on. They cannot endlessly borrow from the shop next door to pay their bills.

Difficult decisions are not often made willingly, but people across Oklahoma make those decisions every day. For the sake of future generations, those difficult decisions must be made NOW by our government.

Our generation is on the brink of doing something unthinkable -- passing on a United States that is weaker than it was when it was entrusted to us. That is not something I can accept. The Second District sent me to Congress to do all I can to reign in Washington's insatiable appetite for spending, and I promise to do all I can to do just that."

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