“Despite Barack Obama’s past State of the Union pledges to add private sector jobs and grow the economy, his big-spending policies have in fact done the opposite.  Specifically, they have dramatically grown our national debt, increased regulatory burdens on Ohio jobs creators and small businesses, and led to prolonged high unemployment.

“Barack Obama’s past State of the Union speeches enjoy a history of being long on partisan rhetoric and promises, while remaining short on actual substance.  The president must acknowledge tonight that moving America forward begins with adopting a pro-growth economic strategy that restores confidence in the private sector.  Speaker Boehner and Senator Rob Portman have outlined jobs plans which attack these issues head on.  However, as of today, nearly thirty House-passed jobs bills continue to languish in the U.S. Senate, a dysfunctional Democrat-led legislative body which has abdicated its responsibility to pass a budget for 1,000 days.

“What big government liberals like Barack Obama and Sherrod Brown fail to understand is that empowering America’s workforce begins with providing the private sector, not government, with the incentives and tools to create jobs.  In 2011, through JobsOhio, Governor Kasich and our Republican led-General Assembly saved or created more than 80,000 Ohio jobs.  Today, we are outpacing the national average in the decline of unemployment.  Barack Obama would be well served to follow the pro-growth, free market strategies championed by Governor John Kasich and Ohio Republicans.

“The president’s decisions to pursue job-killing EPA regulations which break the backs of Ohio energy and paper manufactures were equally as wrongheaded as his recent move to reject the Keystone XL pipeline.  Opposition to these harmfully extreme environmental mandates is bipartisan.  If the president is truly concerned about creating jobs and emboldening American manufacturing, then tonight he will stop placating to liberal special interests and join Republicans and Democrats in supporting common sense reforms which harness the potential to lift Ohio and America toward economic prosperity.”

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