Emily Pfund

epfund@etruth.com

Local representatives on Tuesday evening, Feb. 12, criticized President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, saying he needs to do more to reduce the nation’s debt and reduce spending.

“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,” said Republican Senator Dan Coats in a news release. “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.”

Republican Representive Marlin Stutzman echoed Coats’ criticisms in his news release.

“Over the past four years, President Obama has championed more government and less freedom,” Stutzman said. “We’ve seen the result. Washington’s cycle of payouts, deficit spending, and tax hikes have put our country $16 trillion in debt and our men and women in uniform face devastating cuts to our national defense in just a few weeks.”

Stutzman added that “Washington could learn by watching how we balance budgets in Indiana.”

“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,” Coats said. “I hope this time will be different, and the president will offer a specific plan.”

In addition to the economy and Medicare reform, Obama urged Congress to work towards immigration reform, stricter gun control laws, a $9-per-hour federal minimum wage and education reform.