Washington, D.C., Feb 12 -

House Small Business Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) issued the following statement regarding President Obama’s State of the Union address:

“The President did not outline the path to a strong economic recovery that our nation needs to hear,” said Chairman Graves. “Despite last quarter’s economic contraction, President Obama holds to a higher tax agenda that is destructive to economic growth. Washington has a spending problem, not a revenue problem, and American small businesses and families should not be expected to foot the bill.

"The President is not listening to small businesses. As the NFIB reported today, small business owners’ confidence is among the lowest ever in nearly four decades of the survey. The President’s vision of an even larger federal government takes the country even deeper into debt, and doesn’t provide confidence to consumers or entrepreneurs.

“The government’s role is to encourage this growth by providing more certainty, and reducing the tax and regulatory burden. When small businesses face higher taxes, higher health care costs and more red tape, they cannot invest and expand to create the jobs we need. I appreciate the President's call for tax reform and I hope that Democrats in Congress engage Republicans on this issue.

“Tomorrow’s Small Business Committee hearing will examine the state of the small business economy.  A panel of experts, including a small business owner, will be able to tell us more about the true impact of the President’s agenda.  Small businesses need to be able to make investments for a robust economic recovery. The President’s economic and regulatory policies are not providing an environment to help small businesses owners thrive.”                                                        

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