“President and Congress Must Work
Together to Get America Back to Work”

“We Need More Pro-Growth Policies,
Less Pro-Government Policies”

Washington, DC – Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference, released the following statement tonight after President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress about the economy:

“While I am encouraged by some portions of the President’s speech – and I remain hopeful that tonight will be a cornerstone in getting Congress and the President on the same page in dealing with our nation’s challenges – I would have preferred to see the President display a greater commitment to using free-market solutions to revive our economy and create middle-class jobs.

“As we saw on November 2nd of last year – and in polls throughout this year – the American people are not happy with the status quo.  They are tired of the failed ‘spend, borrow, and bailout’ policies that got us into this crisis and continue to make it worse.  They know we need to create a climate where small business owners have the confidence to grow and create jobs again.  

“When I met with job creators in Eastern Washington during the last five weeks, I asked them how we can create that climate.  Their message was clear:  If we want to grow jobs in the private sector, we need to shrink the size of the public sector.  We need less government spending.  We need less government borrowing.  And we definitely need less government regulation.  

“House Republicans are listening to the American people and America’s job creators.  We’ve already passed fourteen jobs bills this year. The Senate has rejected all but one of them.  We’ve also laid out a bold legislative agenda for the fall focused on tax reform, cutting spending, unlocking the credit markets, repealing job-killing health care and energy regulations, and expanding domestic energy production.
“Now is the time to advance that agenda.  I am eager to work with the President and Congressional leaders in both parties to find bipartisan solutions to get America back to work, pay down our debt, and keep the American Dream alive.”

To listen to an audio recording of this release, click here.