Cole Reacts to State of the Union Address

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Tom Cole (OK-04) released the following statement after President Obama delivered his annual State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress. In the spirit of bipartisan cooperation, Cole attended the speech with Democratic colleague Jan Schakowsky (Ill.)

"This address was a campaign speech from a president who is unfortunately turning to partisan posturing because his failed policies won't win him another term in office. President Obama's rhetoric about equal opportunity may sound nice, but his record demonstrates that it's just code for tax increases. We learned from the failed stimulus and the president's disastrous budget policies that higher taxes and more regulations stifle economic growth and job creation.

"President Obama may talk tough about job creation, but his actions directly contradict his words. While House Republicans have passed 30 bipartisan jobs bills, the president worked with Senate Democrats to block them, not to mention singlehandedly destroying the 20,000 shovel-ready Keystone pipeline jobs as a favor to radical environmentalists.

"House Republicans remain ready to work with the president on real budget reforms and job creation policies. Unfortunately, it seems President Obama is more interested in campaigning than in getting serious about our economic challenges."