“We have an opportunity and an obligation to put Americans first. Last night, President Obama showed he still wants to put Washington first.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) delivered the following speech on the Senate floor in response to President Obama’s State of the Union Address:
Excerpts of his remarks:
“Last night the President delivered his State of the Union Address, so it was interesting to hear the acting minority leader talking about homeland security, budgeting for homeland security.
“It was interesting to hear some of the commentary after the President’s speech because we talk about securing the homeland and what it means for the American public.
“Andrea Mitchell, MSNBC last night said I think that on foreign policy, his — meaning President Obama’s – ‘his projection of success against terrorism and against ISIS in particular is not close to reality’.
“The President of the United States not close to reality.
“Mr. President, I’ve just come back from a trip to the Middle East.
“Been to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Israel, and I concur with Andrea Mitchell that on the specifics of the President’s assessment of success against terrorism and against ISIS, this President is not close to reality.
“So Republicans are going to continue to bring forth the issues to the American people of what reality is like in the world in spite of the way the President may address it because of the specific failures of this President and his foreign policy.
“You know, it’s interesting, Mr. President, last night in his state of the union, the President started by saying that the state of the union is strong.
“And, the state of our union is strong, but President Obama mistakenly took credit for that strength.
“He implied that it was because of his policies, because of his actions.
“On that point, this President could not have gotten it more wrong.
“The state of our union is strong because of the strength of the American people.
“Americans are resilient.
“Americans are hard-working.
“And in the November elections, the American people showed that they can act decisively.
“You know, it’s interesting, this morning headline, ‘New York Times’, ‘Staunchly Liberal Wish List Brushes off GOP’s Gains.’
“So we are a resilient nation. People know what they believe. They know how they feel. They voted those beliefs.
“And when the American people chose Republicans to lead both houses of Congress, they said clearly they wanted change, a change from Barack Obama, a change from the direction that he has been taking this country.
“People want Democrats to start working with Republicans to get things done.
“The American people have said in the November elections they are tired of the gridlock, they are tired of the dysfunction, tired of the Democrats running the Senate to protect their own jobs and not caring about the jobs of the middle-class Americans.
“Now, President Obama had a great opportunity last night, an opportunity to show that he understands what Americans have been telling him.
“Instead he went out and he gave the same speech that he always gives.
“It was a partisan attack on Republicans and the Americans who voted to put the Republicans in charge in the House and in the Senate.
“It’s interesting listening to the commentary after the speech.
“Wolf Blitzer, CNN, said ‘I don’t remember a State of the Union where I heard a President issue so many veto threats to the opposite party in the United States Congress’.
“We have Andrea Mitchell MSNBC, saying that in terms of foreign policy the President’s views are not close to reality.
“CNN Wolf Blitzer: I don’t remember a President issuing so many veto threats to the opposite party in the United States Congress especially when it is a time, as the ‘New York Times’ points out of G.O.P. Gains in the elections.
“The President specifically ignoring what’s happened across this country in the November elections.
“President Obama seems to have missed the November elections entirely.
“Republicans know that we have an obligation to the American people to deliver effective, efficient and accountable government.
“We have an opportunity and an obligation to put Americans first.
“Last night President Obama showed he still wants to put Washington first.
“Well, Republicans are not willing to help this President continue down the same wrong road that the American people have rejected.
“Let’s be honest, this past election was a rejection election, rejecting the policies of this President, this Administration.
“We are charting a new course and a better direction, and we’re already making progress.
“The Senate is working like it hasn’t worked in years.
“We’re debating actually legislation on the floor, the keystone X.L. Pipeline Jobs Bill, and we’re allowing senators to offer amendments.
“We had votes on three amendments yesterday.
“We’re going to pass this bill. We’re going to send it to the President’s desk.
“Then we’re going to turn to more jobs bills and the important issues that American people care about.
“We’re going to work on reforming our health care system.
“In his speech last night President Obama offered no solutions on the major issues facing this country.
“Instead he offered the same old tired policies of higher taxes, more Washington spending, more bureaucracy, more obstruction of bipartisan solutions coming out of the new Congress.
“The President said that Congress should focus on areas where we agree.
“Well, that’s exactly what Republicans have been doing.
“We’re moving bipartisan bills, bills that overwhelming majorities of Americans support and the President continues to threaten to veto them.
“Things like the Keystone X.L. Pipeline bill that supports 42,000 American jobs.
“It’s not my answer.
“That’s what the State Department, the President’s own State Department said, it would support 42,000 American jobs.
“In a poll last week, 65% of Americans said the President should sign that into law.
“We’ll pass bills to allow for more exports of American energy and to give the President the trade promotion authority that he has asked for and that America needs.
“We’ll pass commonsense reforms to America’s health care system to end many of the outrageous and expensive mandates for coverage that people don’t want, don’t need, can’t afford.
“We’ll pass bipartisan education reforms that give all of America’s 50 million students a better chance to succeed.
“We’ll push for tax simplification to make taxes more fair, less complicated
“That’s what Americans need to compete in the 21st century.
“We don’t need higher taxes, more debt to pay for spending and more I.R.S. Agents, things the American people do not believe that we need.
“Republicans are going to send the President bills that will help expand our economy by growing the private sector, not by growing the Washington bureaucracy.
“We’re going to pass bills that increase how much families earn and how much of that they actually get to keep, not just how much Washington gets to take and the President gets to spend.
“So the state of our union is strong and it is also in greater agreement than it has been in years about the direction this country should take.
“President Obama could have taken the opportunity last night to actually talk about this.
“He could have offered a positive plan to work with Republicans and Democrats in Congress instead of the defiant tone that he placed upon the country.
“He made threats to veto bipartisan legislation.
“He chose to double down on more obstruction, more unaccountable Washington bureaucracy, more wasted tax dollars.
“The American people have rejected this course.
“The American people want a better path, not the same old tired speech from a President now in the final quarter of his time as President.
“The speech is over.
“Now the President needs to decide what he’s actually going to do.
“Is he ready to get on board with bipartisan ideas or does he want to just spend the next two years as a lame duck?
“There are Democrats here in this body who agree it is actually time for the Senate to get back to work.
“They’re ready to listen to ideas, good ideas, work with Republicans to help America, to help the American people thrive.
“This President should work with all of us.
“That’s what Americans want.
“They want us to work together.
“They want us to change the direction that our country has been headed for the first six years of President Obama’s time in office.
“This Republican Congress is listening to the American people.
“The President continues to ignore them.”
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