Four years ago, President Obama addressed the state of our union. In 2009, our country was facing an economic crisis with trillions of dollars in debt, rising unemployment, and an uncertain future. Four years later, little has changed. We have a $16 trillion national debt, having added $5.8 trillion of it in the past four years. Yet some Democrats in Congress are still denying we have a spending problem.
Below you will find my response to the president’s State of the Union speech and links to interviews I did with WRAL and WPTF. You’ll also find a link to video of Democrats in Congress saying we don’t have a spending problem.
This week, I added the Keystone XL Clock to my website to show how long it has been since the pipeline was first submitted for approval to the State Department. The House Energy & Commerce Committee has a new Keystone XL page on their website for background, a timeline, and facts about the how this project would bring thousands of jobs to America.
You can find more information about these and other issues on my website at www.ellmers.house.gov and on my social media accounts at Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Please share this newsletter with your friends by forwarding this email and using the social media links in the right sidebar.
Response to State of the Union
We are a proud nation, one that was founded on the principles of individual responsibility and unlimited opportunities. But each year, those freedoms and opportunities have been undermined by our president and manipulated in the pursuit of power and control. Instead of alleviating the burdens that have dragged down our economy, President Obama has attacked our job creators and provided perverse incentives to keep them from hiring. This is not who we are as a people and only restricts the American Dream.
Here in the House, we will continue to fight for the policies that work and protect the dreamers and do-ers. We will lead the charge to get America working again and this begins with helping the small businesses that drive our growth and hire our workers. We will halt the wasteful spending that is robbing our citizens and making their lives harder. We will give all Americans the power to use their own hard earned income to make their lives better, instead of making the federal government stronger. The president’s policies have failed them, but it is not too late.
We need to be bold, we need to be productive and innovate, create, and expand. This can happen, but over the past four years, it has only been happening within the federal government – with little economic growth to show for it. Our nation deserves better. But without a serious conversation about the threats facing our economy and its future, we face four more years of the same old song and dance.
Visit ellmers.house.gov to read my full statement. Click here to listen to my interview with Bill LuMaye of WPTF and click here or on the image below to watch my post-State of the Union interview with Bill Leslie of WRAL.
Democrats Say “We Don’t Have a Spending Problem”
The Democrats who run Washington continue to push a message contrary to what the majority of Americans know to be true: saying that Washington doesn’t have a spending problem.
Click on the image below to see them refuse to recognize the serious problems facing our country:
Click here for more information.
Time to Build
As the Energy and Commerce Committee noted this week, it has been MORE THAN FOUR YEARS since backers of the Keystone XL pipeline first submitted an application to the U.S. State Department on September 19, 2008. This energy infrastructure project promises to bring jobs and greater energy security to America.
Keystone XL has emerged as a symbol of the president’s failed energy policies during his first term. It remains an opportunity to help create a more secure energy future, but the clock on Keystone XL is ticking. Instead of saying “yes” to thousands of jobs and greater energy security, the president has so far delayed and dodged a final decision.
During the 112th Congress, the House voted six separate times to allow for construction of the pipeline, which an industry analysis estimates will create over 20,000 direct jobs and 100,000 indirect jobs and carry nearly a million additional barrels per day of secure North American oil supplies to U.S. refineries. The landmark shovel-ready project enjoys strong bipartisan support, and House Republicans remain committed to finding a solution to ensure the pipeline gets built so that we can strengthen our energy security and put Americans back to work.
Visit the House Committee on Energy and Commerce website for additional information on the Keystone XL Pipeline.