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CONGRESSMAN BOB LATTA STATEMENT ON PRESIDENT OBAMA’S STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

Washington, January 27, 2010 | David Popp ((202) 225-6405)
Congressman Bob Latta (R- Bowling Green) made the following statement regarding President Obama’s State of the Union Address.  

“Instead of focusing on creating jobs and putting Americans back to work in 2009, President Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid chose to focus their attention on a $1 trillion dollar health care bill, cap and trade legislation, which would be the largest energy tax levied against American families and business alike, a $1 trillion dollar “Stimulus Package,” and billions of dollars in bailouts.  

It is clear that last week’s special election in Massachusetts was a rejection of this Administration’s legislative agenda, creating a wake-up call to address the most important issue facing our nation— unemployment and the need for real job creation.  The President can no longer ignore Ohio’s 10.9 percent, and the nation’s 10 percent, unemployment rate as he did for most of his first year in office.  Swift action is needed as this tailspin of job loss continues with no relief in sight.  

Any "jobs" bills that are brought before Congress should focus on tax cuts and incentives for businesses who hire new employees instead of another "stimulus" package that we now know to be nothing more than a bloated government spending program that has failed miserably, leaving taxpayers with the $862 billion dollar cost.  House Republicans continue to offer cost-free legislation that will create jobs and invigorate our economy, as opposed to the Administration’s position of trying to spend our way out of our predicament.     

As the President laid out his preliminary spending proposals for the next fiscal year, specifically his proposed spending "freeze", it comes as no surprise that his plan does not go nearly far enough to address the serious spending problem we face as a nation.  The spending freeze outlined this evening hits only the tip of the iceberg, as it applies to only a small percentage of discretionary spending.  President Obama signed two omnibus appropriations bills that increased non-defense discretionary spending by 10.3 percent in FY 2009 and 12.3 percent in FY 2010.   If the President was serious about a spending freeze, he would go back to the spending levels from at least two years ago.  We are long overdue for an honest review of our spending as we again face record deficits.  The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office stated our current budget deficit will reach $1.35 trillion.  By 2020, at the current spending levels, the United States taxpayers will pay $2 billion per day in interest payments alone.  As a member of the House Budget Committee, I look forward to the forthcoming testimony from the Administration on how they plan to solve these problems.

As Congress prepares to address these important issues, House Republicans, like last year, stand ready to work with President Obama and Democrat Congressional Leadership.  It is my sincere hope that unlike last year, our ideas are welcomed and incorporated into legislation.”  


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