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Congressman Bob Latta (R-Bowling Green) made the following statement after President Obama’s address to the joint session of Congress this evening.

“President Obama’s address to Congress and our nation tonight provided a sober reminder of the struggles we face as a nation.  However, President Obama relied on tired rhetoric of pointing fingers of blame on past administrations and fixing the problems we struggle with by introducing massive government spending, oversight, and regulation.
Unfortunately, President Obama’s proposed tax and spend policy outlined tonight will only send our nation further into debt and do nothing to correct the recession we are facing right now.  During last week’s recess, I met with over 170 constituents at local courthouse conferences one on one, and they made it very clear that they do not support these massive spending bills, whether it was the so-called “stimulus” package or the financial market bailout.  President Obama proposed billions more in spending this evening, financed by tax increases, with no guarantee to American taxpayers that these plans will work.
 
Since January, House Republicans have offered common-sense, viable alternatives to the stimulus package and other pieces of legislation.  House Republicans introduced legislation that would provide twice as many jobs, along with much needed unemployment benefits, for half the cost of the so-called “stimulus” package.  House Republicans also included a provision that would eliminate the current income tax on those unemployment benefits.  Tax cuts provide an immediate boost to our economy, putting money back in the hands of the taxpayers- where it belongs.  Additionally, we included provisions for small businesses that would cut their taxes, provide incentives to hire more employees, and free-up necessary capital funds.  These actions, not pork-barrel spending, will immediately stimulate the economy and put our neighbors back to work.  Our plan allows the market to correct itself without government interference or wasteful spending.

Unfortunately, the Administration and Democrat Congressional Leadership chose not to include any provisions of our legislation or include our members in Conference Committee.  As President Obama repeated a new era of bipartisanship in Washington this evening, it is my hope that he and the Democrat Congressional Leadership take those words to heart as we debate future legislation. 

As we move forward, House Republicans are dedicated to working with the President and the Democrat Congressional Leadership to bring our country out of this recession and tackle the other problems facing our nation.  I personally believe America’s best days are ahead of Her and I look forward to spirited debate to do what is best for our Nation.”