House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) issued the following statement tonight in response to President Obama’s State of the Union address:
Last week, the president visited my home state of Minnesota and said, ‘We don’t have to agree on everything to agree it’s time to do something.’ Tonight, the president was faced with a unique opportunity to double down on that premise by rallying Americans from a variety of political persuasions and helping Congress chart a new course of working together to solve the most serious challenges our country faces.
Instead, the president outlined a case for more big government. Instead of focusing on the ingenuity and greatness of the American people, the president repeated the same broken promises that have kept unemployment hovering around 8 percent and hampered economic growth.
He could have agreed with the overwhelming majority of Americans by acknowledging Washington’s spending problem. Families and job creators deserve to know how he plans to control wasteful spending, reduce the debt that threatens prosperity for our children and grandchildren, and expand opportunity for all Americans without raising taxes and destroying more jobs.
The president’s uncompromising belief that bigger government is the answer to the challenges we face is fundamentally flawed. The American people, not the federal government, are the beacon of hope that makes America great. Our American dream can only be realized when every individual is empowered to pursue life and liberty and achieve their unlimited potential – unencumbered by government interference.
This new year must begin a new era of reform. Too many schools are failing our children, a broken job training system is limiting workers’ ability to compete for in-demand jobs, and an activist bureaucracy is crushing our job creators. Republicans stand ready to address these and other challenges as we work to complete the job the American people sent us here to do.
