FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:January 24^th, 2012

Paulsen Statement on the State of the Union Address

Washington, D.C. – Rep. Erik Paulsen (MN-03), a member of the House Committee on Ways and Means, released the following statement in response to President Obama’s State of the Union Address:

“None of us should be sitting on the sidelines as millions of Americans look to Washington for leadership, cooperation, and action. There is hard work to be done to fix a broken Washington and get Americans back to work.

“Let’s start by reforming the tax code to make it simpler, fairer, and more competitive - including eliminating special interest loopholes.           

“Tonight, in his speech, the President expressed the need to encourage more domestic manufacturing and keep jobs here in America. The first place he should look is medical device manufacturing, which provides more than 35,000 jobs in Minnesota alone.  This American success story has come under assault from our own government and unelected bureaucratic agencies.  As a result, American jobs are being forced overseas. We need to repeal the President’s new tax on medical devices and modernize the FDA, so we can keep innovation, manufacturing, and jobs here in the United States. 

“Finally, Washington should make it easier, not harder for businesses to create more high-paying jobs. We need to protect American jobs, not threaten them.”

Paulsen, a champion of small business and advocate of free enterprise, entrepreneurship, and innovation currently serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, and is co-chair of the Congressional Medical Technology Caucus, as well as the U.S.–Korea Free Trade Working Group.

For more information on Rep. Paulsen’s work in Congress, and for past segments of  Erik's Correspondence Corner, please visit www.paulsen.house.gov.

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