02.12.13

Hoeven Statement in Response to President Obama's State of the Union Address

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement in response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address this evening before a joint session of Congress:

“With a chronically sluggish economy and more than 12 million Americans still unemployed, the president this evening needed to focus squarely on the nation’s economic vitality, our deficit, debt and job creation. While he acknowledged the importance of these issues, the approach he outlined will not get us where we need to go.

“The president has again proposed more taxes, more spending and more regulation. Clearly, that approach doesn’t work, which is evidenced by the economy’s poor performance over the past four years. What we do need, rather, is a pro-growth, pro-jobs approach to the economy and job creation.

“That means creating a legal, tax and regulatory climate that promotes business investment, innovation – and hiring. It also means reining in our spending and controlling our deficit and debt, as well as developing a true all-of-the-above energy policy that will fuel our economy, move us toward energy security and create good jobs for Americans.

“That’s the approach we took more than a decade ago in North Dakota, and today our state’s economy is vibrant and growing. North Dakota is growing from border to border, not only with energy development, but also with agriculture, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing and technology-based businesses.

“We can do on a national level what we did in North Dakota, and we’ve put forward legislation in the U.S. Senate to help get us started. Measures like the Domestic Energy and Jobs Act, which takes a comprehensive approach to energy development, and the Empower States Act, which allows states to regulate hydraulic fracturing, with an EPA backstop if necessary, can take us a long way down the road to true economic recovery.

“We can create jobs, increase revenues and pay down our national debt, not by raising taxes, but by fostering a growing, dynamic economy and a broader economic base. First, however, we need to build a climate that empowers people and the private sector.”