Washington, DC --- U.S. Representative Heath Shuler released the following statement tonight in response to President Obama's State of the Union address:
“Tonight the President outlined a blueprint to rebuild the economy, revitalize American manufacturing, and put our country on a long-term fiscally sustainable path. The President is right that we must do more to level the playing field for American workers, reward companies that keep and create jobs here in the United States, and pass an agenda that helps our small businesses succeed. He is also right that we must go bigger than the $2 trillion in cuts and savings Congress has already implemented and pass a comprehensive, balanced deficit reduction plan that includes reforms to the tax code and entitlement programs. The President’s bipartisan Simpson-Bowles Fiscal Commission has already laid out the framework for such a plan --- $4 trillion in comprehensive cuts and savings over the next 10 years and long-term reductions in spending. I am currently working with a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers to turn this framework into legislation and give Congress the opportunity to pass a substantive deficit reduction plan that the President can sign into law.
“As President Obama said in his speech tonight, our nation is great because we built it together. I am hopeful that both Democrats and Republicans in Congress will heed the President’s call to action and work together in a bipartisan manner to rebuild our economy, pay down our debt, and move our country forward.”
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