Reed Reacts to State of the Union

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Congressional candidate Tom Reed described his overall reaction as "disappointed" to tonight's State of the Union Address by President Obama.

"I was glad to hear the President say that his priority was job creation and that he realized that small businesses are the engines that drive our economy," Reed said. "I hope it isn't just rhetoric. I hope the leaders of his own party enact some of the things he proposed."

"However, I'm tired of talk. I didn't hear anything that demonstrated that the President is listening to the American people," Reed lamented. "He has not listened to the people telling him to slow down on health care reform, and he paid but brief lip service to controlling spending and balancing the budget. To create long term prosperity and to encourage the kind of private investment that will put people back to work, we have to get federal spending under control. Government is not the answer, individuals are."

"The spending freeze is a good thought," Reed continued, "but it only applies to a small portion of the budget. Meanwhile, the 2010 deficit in the budget the President proposed and Congressman Massa voted for is well over a trillion borrowed dollars. We are $12 trillion in debt and we cannot continue adding more than a trillion dollars to the debt every year." 

"There was absolutely no renewed commitment to transparency either," Reed observed. "Nothing I will do in Washington will be done behind closed doors. I wish others would commit to that as well." 

"One thing is clear," Reed said. "Nothing is changing in Washington. Our children and grandchildren are going to pay for the lack of leadership in Washington. We need serious solutions not just more pretty words."

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