ICYMI: Hensarling on CNN's Starting Point
House Republican Conference Chairman Jeb Hensarling appeared on CNN’s Starting Point today to discuss the president’s State of the Union Address last night and House Republicans Plan for American Job Creators. Below are excerpts from the interview.
On the president’s SOTU Address:
“I'm usually encouraged by what I hear the president say, I'm just usually discouraged by what he does. To some extent he acted like he parachuted into town last night. He's been here for three years. All of his major policies have been enacted—the $1 trillion stimulus plan, the health care plan, the Dodd-Frank plan. Each and every time he told us if we passed these the economy would improve and that jobs would grow. Instead what has happened? Almost 2 million more Americans have lost their jobs on his watch and we have the highest sustained period of high unemployment since the Great Depression.
“So unfortunately his policies have failed and we wish that he would try something new. It's a new year. Republicans brought to him the Keystone pipeline. Last night the president said he wanted more jobs, he said he wanted more American energy independence. Then it begs the question, why did he just bury 20,000 shovel-ready American jobs? So in that respect, it was disappointing.”
On the Obama economy:
“Almost 2 million more people have lost their jobs. That's the fact. Listen, we want our economy to improve, and by any historic standard we should have already been in full recovery. In fact, had this recovery followed the trend of all the previous post-war recoveries, Americans would be thousands of dollars richer and millions more employed. But the bottom line is the policies of this president—where he threatens more taxation, where he's drowning businesses in red tape with his health care program, where he is bankrupting our nation, bringing our nation's first [second, and third] trillion dollar deficit. … I mean, he's caused small business to no longer want to create businesses or hire new people. The president cannot escape responsibility for this economy.”
On House Republican jobs bills currently stuck in the Senate:
“Republicans have a plan for America's job creators and, in fact, we have 27 jobs bills that are stacked up like cordwood and Democrat Harry Reid won't do anything with them. The president won't do anything with themso, again, when the president speaks of bipartisanship, he’s not practicing it”
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For additional information, contact:
House Republican Conference Press Office (conferencepress@mail.house.gov)
