Show notes:
J.R. interviews U.S. Reps. Rob Wittman and J. Randy Forbes, Republican congressmen from Virginia, to get their reaction to tonight’s State of the Union Address
This podcast explores the tone of the speech, the president’s desire to spend more on education, energy, and infrastructure, what the GOP really thinks about the debt and cutting spending, international policy with China, and cuts in defense spending.
Rep. Forbes begins at 11:55.
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Intro by Rick Jensen.
Listen to/Download the podcast
Other reaction comes from Rep. Robert Hurt:
“With the serious challenges facing our nation, it is important that we continue to work together to try to get our economy back on track.
“It was encouraging to hear President Obama address the pressing need to create jobs, cut spending, and get our fiscal house in order, but I was disappointed by his renewed commitment to pursue more stimulus-style government spending.
“For far too long, Washington has embarked on a reckless spending spree that has failed to create jobs and only added to our trillion dollar deficit and 14 trillion dollar debt.
“Continuing on this path will do nothing to help move our economy forward.
“In order for our economy to make a long-lasting recovery, it is critical that we remain committed to enacting policies that rein in out of control government spending, keep taxes low, and reduce the unnecessary regulations that hinder small businesses.
“Where there is room for consensus on these issues, I look forward to working with the President and my colleagues to put those policies into place that will help grow our economy for all 5th District Virginians.”
Rep. Scott Rigell:
“Tonight the President stressed the importance of fiscal discipline, and I welcome this change in message. It is my sincere hope that it is also a change in substance that will be reflected in the budget that the President will submit to Congress.
To say that our current trajectory of spending is unsustainable fails, in my view, to capture the risk it presents to our country. If left unchecked, I believe that federal spending will result in catastrophic consequences, not only for our grandchildren, and our children, but this generation as well.
Each week of the 112th Congress, I have joined my Republican colleagues in passing bills that reduce federal spending, including voting to repeal the Health Care Law, which would reduce spending by $2.6 trillion, cutting Congress’ own budgets by 5 percent, and rolling back government funding to the pre-bailout, pre-stimulus 2008 levels. We are fulfilling our pledge to end Washington’s spending spree and we will continue to make the tough but necessary decisions needed to put America back on a path to job creation and fiscal responsibility.”
And, Rep. Bob Goodlatte:
“Tonight President Obama delivered his official State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress. The President articulated to the American people in very frank terms the challenges that our nation is currently facing. Our economy remains sluggish, people fear losing their jobs and their homes, and many are worried about the future their children and grandchildren will inherit. They are deeply concerned about the outlook for our great country and wonder if their children will grow up in the same America they did. People are looking for real solutions to the problems we face.
Tonight President Obama laid out his domestic agenda for economic growth and job creation. I welcome the President’s call for fiscal discipline and hope that it represents a turning point away from the job-killing, tax-and-spend agenda pushed by the Democrats in Congress. While the previous Congress responded to our current economic crisis with unprecedented levels of spending, government intrusion in the private sector, and expansion of the federal government, these actions have only exacerbated the problem. These reckless policies have done little to create jobs, leaving our unemployment rate hovering near ten percent, but have certainly saddled our children and grandchildren with debt that is not their own.
For this reason, in the opening hours of this new Congress, I introduced a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. My legislation, which has bipartisan support, ensures that the federal government is held accountable and that the money our citizens work so hard to earn is not squandered on wasteful spending and programs. Specifically, the legislation forces Congress to enact fiscally responsible spending measures and reduce the deficit by requiring that total spending for any fiscal year not exceed total receipts. Families all across our nation understand what it means to make tough decisions each day about what they can and cannot afford and government officials should be required to exercise similar restraint when spending the hard-earned dollars of our nation’s citizens.
The American people are hurting and so nothing is more important to me than ensuring the future growth of our economy. I remain committed to working with the President and Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to focus on real solutions that will create American jobs and restore confidence in our economic future.
Tonight we also took a moment to honor our colleague Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who was not present in the House Chamber with us but was there in spirit. In a bipartisan display of unity and support for the victims of the recent tragedy in Tucson, we all wore black and white lapel ribbons tonight. We were particularly honored to welcome some of the heroes from that tragic day. Without the bravery and determination shown by Daniel Hernandez, Congresswoman Giffords’ intern who didn’t leave her side through the entire incident or Dr. Peter Rhee, the Chief of Trauma at the University Medical Center in Tucson, who oversaw the medical care of many of the wounded, including Congresswoman Giffords, it is certain that many more lives would have been lost that day.
We also welcomed the family of nine year old Christina Green. Christina was born on September 11, 2001, a day of national tragedy, and sadly she lost her life amidst another tragedy. She had recently been elected to the student council at her elementary school and she simply wanted to meet her local Congresswoman whom she so admired. We hope all Americans will join us in keeping Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, her staff, and all the others whose lives were forever changed by the heinous act of violence that occurred in Tucson in our thoughts and prayers.”
