While Democrats saw value in Obama’s remarks, Republicans were lukewarm at best. U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce, R-Russell Township, was unhappy with the president’s vow to work around Congress if cooperation wasn’t forthcoming.
“I found it very troubling the president indicated if he doesn’t get what he wants, he’ll simply bypass Congress,” Joyce said in a statement. “We should work together to find common ground on the issues and continue to make job creation our number one priority.”
Joyce agreed with some of Obama’s goals, but not necessarily the methodology.
“When I was first elected, I was stunned to hear that 3 million jobs go unfilled every month,” he said. “So I’m glad the president mentioned manufacturing, job-training and education which will help us fill those jobs with American workers. But the difference between my vision for the country and the president’s is I think the American people can, and should, lead our economic recovery — not politicians.”
“What Ohio families want to see is less Washington interference and more job creation and economic growth,” Joyce said. “At the end of the day, nothing can replace what a good-paying job means for Ohio families. When the American people are free to succeed, there’s no limit to what we can accomplish.”
U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown, D, and Rob Portman, R, also weighed in on the speech in separate statements.
“President Obama talked about a year of action to restore an opportunity society, one where every American can pursue his or her dreams,” Portman said in a statement. “I couldn’t agree more with the goal, but disagree with most of the president’s ideas about how to get there. We have tried the top down approach of more government, more regulations, more spending and record debt and it hasn’t worked.”
Portman said the president addressed four economic-based topics in his speech: skills training, energy policy, corporate tax code and trade agreements to expand exports.
“If the president were to engage with Congress on these four bipartisan proposals to increase opportunity, he could translate his words from the State of the Union into action,” he said in the statement. “It will take his leadership, and if he provides that, I believe both sides can come together and find common ground.”
“The president talked about a year of action,” Portman said. “Let’s hope he is willing to work with Congress to turn his words into reforms that will help the American people.”
Brown saw value in the address.
“Tonight’s speech provided an important blueprint to grow our economy by growing the middle class,” he said in a statement. “The president’s executive order to raise the minimum wage for employees of new federal contracts will be strengthened by the Fair Minimum Wage Act, which we must pass to give nearly 1.3 million Ohioans a raise. President Obama also called on Congress to pass my bipartisan bill to create a network of manufacturing innovation hubs based on Youngstown’s America Makes.”
Brown said he has urged Congress to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour and boost the wage of tipped workers from $2.13 an hour to 70 percent of the regular minimum wage. He also is urging support for a plan to extend emergency unemployment insurance to 1.3 million Americans.
No comments:
Post a Comment