Area Lawmakers React To President's Speech

Click here to hear the State of the Union Address, Republican Response and Tea Party Response.U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell Responds to the President’s State of the Union Address Washington, DC – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following comments Tuesday night following the President’s State of the Union Address:“Well first we welcome the President to the Capitol. I always enjoy the State of the Union, and I was pleased to see that he has adjusted his rhetoric considerably since last year. He seems to be advocating more centrist policies that I think will be approved by the vast majority of the American people.“I like the fact that he is calling for us to lower the corporate tax rate in the United States which is definitely hindering our international competitiveness.“I like the fact that he wants to do something about spending. However, freezing government spending for five years at the increased levels of the last two years is really not enough.  We need to reduce domestic spending substantially. And I hope the President will work with us to achieve that.“But overall it sounds to me like the President’s changed the tone and the rhetoric from the first two years. And I think that’s an appropriate adjustment in the wake of last year’s election when the American people said basically they wanted to go in a different direction.”Republican U.S. Senator Rand Paul's response to the speech can be seen here.Democratic Congressman John Yarmuth's Response to State of the Union Address(Washington, DC) Tonight, Congressman John Yarmuth (KY-3) released the following statement after President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address:“Tonight was about the difficult choices we face as a nation, and President Obama mapped out an ambitious plan for fiscal responsibly that focuses on programs that are critical to our economic recovery. In Louisville, federal investments have revitalized manufacturing at Ford and Appliance Park, leading to the creation of thousands of jobs. If we do not continue to make these investments in innovation as well as education and infrastructure we will essentially surrender our nation to our global competitors.” Statement of Republican Indiana 9th Distsrict Congressman Todd Young on President Obama's State of the Union Address: “Tonight, we heard the President outline his vision for putting our economy back on track and for putting Americans back to work. While I applaud his statements about the need to cut government spending, I’m wary of his open-ended calls for new taxpayer-financed investments.”“For the past two years, our Congress has charged record levels of spending to the national credit card by calling it investment and promising it would create jobs. Now, our nation faces a crushing debt burden of fourteen trillion dollars, and an economy that is still struggling to get back on its feet. Government has grown, but private sector jobs have not.”“It has become increasingly clear that our economy will remain in neutral until we put our fiscal house back in order. Businesses that are nervous about the possibility of tax increases are hesitant to begin hiring again. Congress must act quickly—and in a bipartisan fashion—to reduce spending and to develop a coherent plan to bring our debt under control.”“That’s why I support efforts by our Republican leadership to cut spending back to 2008 levels. As a member of the Budget Committee, I will help craft a budget that will begin to shrink the size and intrusiveness of our federal government. We in Congress should immediately get serious about cutting spending in order to create the conditions for sustainable economic growth and job creation.” –Rep. Todd Young (R-IN)