For immediate release: January 24, 2012

Obama Track Record Negates SOTU Campaign Speech

(WASHINGTON, DC) – The President’s State of the Union address was filled with positive comments on the nature of Americans and America’s future, and some areas of universal agreement, but his track record on fulfilling previous political promises renders tonight’s State of the Union Address moot, according to House Republican Conference Secretary John Carter (TX-31).
 
“This President has made promises to the nation every year since 2008, and has failed to achieve a single major pledge,” says Carter.  “In many cases he has fostered precisely the opposite result of what he led his fellow Americans to believe would occur through his actions and policies.  It’s time the President stops talking and starts working with the House on all the jobs bills and energy proposals that he and the Senate have thus far blocked from consideration. It is obvious his policies don’t work – we need to try some that will.”

Obama promised in 2009 that his stimulus plan would reduce unemployment, while the plan actually led to two million more Americans losing their jobs, and the longest period of unemployment over 8% since the Great Depression.   More Americans have been pushed into the Food Stamp program than ever before in history, and the latest Census Bureau data shows almost half the nation has fallen to the federal poverty level or below under Obama’s watch. 

The President pledged that he would increase energy independence and lower costs, but in fact has shut down oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico in contempt of a federal court order, illegally denied construction of the Keystone Pipeline to bring Canadian oil to Texas refineries, and stood by while the price of gas has doubled under his policies.

The President told Americans he would cut the federal deficit in half by 2012, while it has instead doubled, with the Obama Administration adding $4 trillion to the nation’s debt, leading to the first ever downgrade in the credit rating of the United States.

“We have passed dozens of bills to create jobs over the past year,” says Carter.  “Not only has the Senate failed to consider even one,  today the U.S. Senate under Democrat Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV) reached a historic milestone – 1000 days without passing a budget, including two years with a Democrat House, Senate, and White House.   Maybe instead of making more promises, the President should tell Senator Reid to get to work and try for some bipartisan cooperation.” 

  
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U.S. Rep. John Carter
http://carter.house.gov/
31st District of Texas, 409 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
Contact: John.Stone@mail.house.gov; (202) 225-3864

John E. Stone
Communications/Borders and Immigration
House Republican Conference Secretary John R. Carter
409 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-3864; Fax (202) 225-5866
www.house.gov/carter