Lucas Reacts To State Of The Union Address

Statement

Today, President Barack Obama gave his first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress a little over a year after taking office. As the American economy continues to suffer and the unemployment rate hovers at 10 percent, he spent much of the address discussing his economic agenda, but also discussed his health care plan and the war on terror. Below is Congressman Frank Lucas' response to the president's address.

"I was pleased to see President Obama chose to focus much of his first State of the Union address on our country's ailing economy. Although Oklahoma has fared better than the rest of the nation, much of our country is suffering through our current economic troubles and it is time that we concentrate on improving our economy, creating jobs, and reducing Americans' tax burden rather than a trillion-dollar government takeover of our health care system or a $600 billion energy tax.

"However, many of the proposals he announced tonight appear to be in direct contrast with each other. For example, he proposed a three year freeze on all discretionary, non-defense spending while also proposing a 6.2 percent increase in education funding and promoting his estimated $800 bill to $1.2 trillion government takeover of health care.

"The president has a long way to go from here. Many Americans are still waiting for the "hope and change' he promised during his campaign and most of his supporters are still waiting for him to accomplish a single one of his big agenda items. Over the last few months with the elections in Virginia, New Jersey, and most recently Massachusetts, the American people have spoken loud and clear -- they are not happy with the direction the president has been headed. Let's hope he actually listens to them this time."

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