Ellmers Responds to President's State of the Union Address

Statement

Congresswoman Renee Ellmers (R-NC-02) released the following statement this evening following President Obama's State of the Union address to Congress:

"Seven years into the president's time in office, and we are still witnessing empty promises and over-blown rhetoric. The overarching theme of tonight's speech -- and the president's time in office-- can be summed up as: let's spend more of your hard-earned taxpayer dollars creating expensive federally-run programs and supporting government-knows-best policies."?

"Mr. Obama had the opportunity tonight to point us in a new direction--one focused on promoting real economic recovery, slashing our nation's $18 trillion dollar debt, and creating job opportunities for the 8.7 million Americans who are still unemployed. Instead, our president reiterated his willingness to bypass Congress entirely -- and work around the people's House-- in order to enact more of his failed government policies on our depleted budget."

"Congress stands ready and willing to work with the president, but the truth is that our president has spent the last few weeks threatening to veto most of the pro-growth legislation that Congress has passed -- including Keystone and legislation to restore the 40-hour work week. This leaves us, instead, with a president who cares to prioritize government intervention and costly regulation ahead of job creation and economic growth."

"The American people spoke very clearly in November-- they are ready for us to work together and ready for the political gamesmanship to end. Simply put, the president's top-down approach to enacting policy isn't real leadership, and it certainly isn't what the American people deserve. I hope the president uses the final two years of his presidency to show us that he is capable of putting down his "pen and phone' long enough to reach across the aisle."

"It's going to take more than President Obama's once-a-year speech in front of a joint session of Congress to convince me that he is willing to work with the people's House; however, I remain hopeful that he will. I am eager to work with my colleagues in the Senate and our president to get things done for the American people, and I hope our president shows us that he is willing to do the same."

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