Washington, D.C. – Congressman Kenny Marchant (TX-24) issued the following release today regarding the President’s first State of the Union address.

“I am glad that the President is finally beginning to show concern for the out of control spending in Washington. However, rhetoric must meet reality. When he campaigned, President Obama said he would go line by line through the budget and eliminate wasteful spending. Instead, he signed a pork-filled omnibus bill. In fact, since Democrats took control of Congress in 2007, non-defense discretionary spending has increased 86%! If the President is truly serious about reigning in government spending to balance the budget and cut the deficit, he will have many fiscally conservative allies. If, however, fiscal responsibility means higher taxes to subsidize more government spending, then I think he will find significant pushback. 

“Although the President spoke about a job creation bill he’d like to pass this year, I am concerned that he has not learned the lessons of the misguided ‘stimulus’ bill. It was not targeted, timely, or temporary; instead, it was a hodgepodge of liberal favors to special interest groups. President Obama could do more to stimulate job creation by abandoning his legislative agenda (particularly the national energy tax and government takeover of health care) which is killing jobs, punishing hard work, and leaving small businesses fearful of the next shoe to drop.”

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