Rep. LaMalfa Comments on President Obama’s State of the Union Address

For Immediate Release

January 28, 2014

Washington, DC – Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) today issued the following comment on the President's State of the Union Address:

At the beginning of the President's speech, I agreed with many of the goals and points he laid out. While I was pleased to hear him speak of streamlining regulations, his actions don't match the rhetoric. We've seen his regulatory agencies reach ever farther into Americans' lives, using creative legal interpretations to stymie economic growth and attack agricultural activities that are specifically exempted under existing law. His own actions are largely responsible for the very problems he spoke of tonight.

Under the President's economic agenda, America has seen both the first and second annual trillion dollar deficits in our nation's history, sustained unemployment above seven percent and millions of Americans pushed out of the workforce. Unfortunately, while the President and the Senate have failed to act on the 40 pro-growth jobs bills passed in the House, millions of Americans who are ready to work are left jobless.

The path to higher incomes isn't through mandating wages, but through a highly-skilled workforce that can command higher pay. His own health care policies are doing more to force Americans out of full-time, high paying jobs than wage mandates can ever hope to fix. We know that Americans can be the most competitive workforce on the planet, and that's why House Republicans passed the SKILLS Act, which increases job training and placements, over ten months ago. Unfortunately, the President and Democratic Senate have yet to act on the bill.

In the North State, we have directly felt the negative impact of the President's agenda. Over 900,000 in California alone have lost their coverage under the President's health care law, nearly three times the number of people who have actually gained coverage. Just a year ago, the President told these families and individuals that if they liked their plan, they could keep it. Now they are being told they have to buy a product that is too expensive and inaccessible or face a fine. Americans are seeing their options evaporate, access limited and costs increase.

Working together is something the American public expects of Congress and the White House. The President has said the words, but as we've seen with his health care plan, the government shutdown, Iran sanctions and a host of other problems, he hasn't been willing to talk with us. That doesn't sound like working together to me.

The President has called for a year of action. Californians are facing massive transportation needs, crushing debt, increasing crime and a drought of historic size. I hope that we can work together to address these dire needs.

Congressman Doug LaMalfa is a lifelong farmer representing California's First Congressional District, including Butte, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou and Tehama Counties.