02/14/13 Senator Dan Coats (R-Ind.) Wednesday issued the following statement regarding President Obama’s State of the Union speech:
“While I am pleased President Obama finally has turned his focus back to the ongoing jobs crisis, I am disappointed that he continues to call for higher taxes to pay for more spending. We have heard many of these words before, the real test will be to see if the president finally will lead and act on pro-growth policies.
“This is certainly not the ‘balanced’ approach the president has been promising the American people. If the president was as committed to reducing the debt and growing the economy as he is to spending and taxing, our country would be in a much stronger position today. President Obama and Congress must do more to reduce the nearly $16.5 trillion debt, $6 trillion of which was added under this administration alone.
“President Obama also mentioned he is willing to restructure programs like Medicare. He has made this commitment before, but we have yet to see action. I hope this time will be different, and the president will offer a specific plan. Hard-working Hoosiers and millions of Americans have spent a lifetime paying into our health and retirement security programs. If we don’t take steps to restructure and save these programs, we will lose the ability to provide benefits for current and future recipients.
“The president must lead on these critical issues and work with Congress to enact real spending reforms. The best investment we can make in America’s future is to restore our fiscal health by removing the burden of excessive debt and taxation hindering opportunity and economic growth.”
