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Rep. Ryan Response to President's

State of the Union Address

WASHINGTON –  Wisconsin's First District Congressman Paul Ryan made the following comments regarding the President’s State of the Union address:

“I thought it was a good solid speech.  I wanted to hear the President address three key issues – what we are going to do to create more jobs, lower the cost of health care and protect our nation’s security interests at home and abroad.  He delivered.  He looked back at the progress we’ve made and looked ahead to the many challenges that still face Americans.

The past year has been remarkable on many fronts.  We’ve witnessed the capture of Saddam Hussein and the daily heroics of our troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world.  As the President mentioned, the message has started to get through to other rogue regimes and terror sponsors such as Libya. 

And we’ve seen our economy begin to rebound.  We need to keep moving forward so more jobs are created – especially in hard-hit manufacturing areas like ours.  The President sounds like he is committed to this.  And I agree that making the tax cuts permanent can help spark new growth.

I was glad the President talked about helping people and small businesses deal with the rising cost of health care.  This is a problem that weighs heavily on Wisconsin businesses and families.  Making sure that people in our area have access to affordable health care must be a top priority.

And, like the President, I believe we have a responsibility to fix the weaknesses in Social Security, before the baby boomers’ retirement bankrupts this crucial program.  I’m looking forward to working with the President and my colleagues on these critical issues.”

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