Jan 20 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Tonight, Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) issued the following statement in response to President Obama’s State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress:

“President Obama is right to acknowledge that America’s economy must improve and Washington needs to do more to help hardworking taxpayers, but unfortunately he doesn’t understand that Washington is the problem. Partisan gridlock has made things harder, not easier for the American people and Washington has not produced results. There aren’t enough good-paying jobs, and prices for groceries and healthcare keep going up while paychecks are going down or staying the same.

“Millions of hardworking families are still struggling to make ends meet. North Carolina small businesses and job creators have been buried with inefficient regulations and red-tape. We have also seen our enemies, radical Islamic terrorists, gain in strength and numbers, posing an ever increasing threat to our safety and security.

“The American people deserve a government that is efficient, effective, accountable and responsive to the challenges American families face. We must work to make our tax code fairer and simpler, to help small businesses expand and create jobs, to put America on a path to energy independence, and to reduce the costs of healthcare. At the same time, we must improve America’s safety and security at home and abroad. Clearly, these are areas where we can work together for the good of the nation.

“It will require a genuine willingness to cooperate, to find common ground, and to produce results. I will work in the United States Senate to find common ground, to find common-sense solutions, and to end the partisan gridlock. Republican or Democrat, it doesn’t matter whose idea it is, as long as it works for the American people.

“We should never settle for an economy that’s limping along and a nation that’s less safe and secure. Americans aspire to a standard of greatness, and so should Washington. I will work every single day to solve problems, to create opportunities, and to help hardworking taxpayers achieve their American Dream. I hope the President will end the politics as usual and cooperate with us to turn these bipartisan goals into solutions and results for the American people.”

###