“The way the President has down-played the terrorist threat has been alarming. The American people have the right to expect that the U.S. government will fulfill its number one responsibility of protecting the homeland. ISIS and its counterparts are a growing threat to our country that cannot be cast aside. Throughout our history, the United States was respected by our friends and feared by our enemies. Increasingly, neither seems to be the case. The President needs to focus on the safety of Americans and see the world the way it is, rather than the way he wishes it was.
“On the economy, the President offered soaring prose that sounds good but offers little in terms of real solutions. I’d rather have heard more on ways we can work together to increase middle class wages and grow the economy. We’ve had low gains in productivity that have led to stagnant wages. We have rising health care costs. We have a lot of people out of the workforce. I’m looking for specific ideas to increase job creation. What I hear from the other side of the aisle is more regulations and higher taxes. More regulations are counter-productive to economic growth. The Administration’s Waters of the U.S. regulation is a perfect example. Red tape from this regulation would require permits for any changes to the land in 97 percent of Iowa. That’s an astounding power grab.
“The marketplace, entrepreneurship and the American work ethic have made this country so successful. The Administration’s rhetoric on economic growth is at cross purposes with the regulations coming out of the executive branch. Also, rhetoric on working together rings hollow when the White House has used so much executive overreach on significant issues that bypasses the legislative branch and its elected representatives. The short-term partisan interests of the White House should not trump the constitutional principles laid out by the founding fathers.
“The Republican-led Congress will continue to fight for the economic growth that made America the envy of the world and will work to keep our country strong in the face of increasing dangers from those who want to destroy our way of life.”
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