WASHINGTON, D.C.-- Congressman Sam Graves (MO-06), Chairman of the House Small Business Committee, issued the following statement after the president's State of the Union address:
"The president spoke about income inequality tonight, but failed to mention his own role in making that gap wider. Five years into his presidency, the labor force participation rate is at its lowest point since the late 1970s. There are four million Americans who have been unemployed for at least six months, and another eight million Americans who are working part-time because they still cannot find a full-time job. Two of every five Americans say they are worse off financially than they were a year ago, according to a recent Gallup poll. The president's policies have not helped. Yet year after year he proposes more big-government solutions that have never worked and will never work.
"The House has been ready to work with the president on ways to strengthen the economy, help get people back to work, and lower energy costs for families. We have passed bills to scrap federal regulations that hamper growth, make it easier for Americans to access job training programs, and approve the Keystone XL pipeline. The president and the Senate should work with us on these worthwhile initiatives -- and a host of others.
"As he has done in previous speeches, the president once again pledged a renewed focus on jobs. While America has slowly added jobs for four years, it has not been at the pace needed to make up for the 8.7 million jobs lost during the Great Recession. In Missouri, we know that the government does not create jobs, but -- with the right policies -- it can set the table for economic growth and create certainty for our nation's small business owners. To return our union to one of economic power, we must unleash our small businesses from excessive federal regulatory and tax constraints so the private sector can grow, create jobs, and lift wages and opportunities for all.
"The president is fond of saying that he wants to work with Republicans on solutions. But his rhetoric never gets translated into action. I hope the president will put down his pen, pick up his phone, and use it to call Congress sometime. In the meantime, we'll continue our work to make life easier for all Americans."