Washington- Tonight, President Obama delivered his first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress.

Rep. Pitts’ statement follows:

“At last the President seems to recognize that we need to focus on job growth. Congress spent far too much time last year on partisan legislation that divided the American people and did nothing to boost the economy.

“While I applaud the President’s call for a partial spending freeze, I think this is just a good start and that balancing our budget and reducing our deficit will require commitment from both parties. Leading Democrats have already spoken out against the spending freeze, which suggests that he may have to use the veto pen against his own party.

“I was encouraged to hear his support for expanding clean nuclear power. I hope that I can speak with him soon about my SAFE Nuclear Act to promote the construction of new generators. I also appreciated his endorsement of tax credits and capital gains tax relief for small businesses. Last year, I proposed similar measures in my list of alternatives to the stimulus bill.

“This is going to be a very important year for our economy and Congress must not wait until after the next election to get things done. President Obama says that he will listen to good ideas. I hope that when my colleagues and I share those ideas, they will not be dismissed while legislation is constructed behind closed doors.”

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