Republican response to State of the Union Address
Good evening. I'm Congressman Paul Ryan from Janesville,
Wisconsin --and chairman here at the House Budget Committee.
President Obama just addressed a congressional chamber filled
with many new faces. One face we did not see tonight was that of
our friend and colleague, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords of
Arizona. We all miss Gabby and her cheerful spirit, and we are
praying for her return to the House chamber.
Earlier this month, President Obama spoke movingly at a memorial
event for the six people who died on that violent morning in
Tucson. Still, there are no words that can lift the sorrow that now
engulfs the families and friends of the fallen.
What we can do is assure them that the nation is praying for
them; that, in the words of the Psalmist, the Lord heals the broken
hearted and binds up their wounds, and that over time grace will
replace grief.
As Gabby continues to make encouraging progress, we must keep
her and the others in our thoughts as we attend to the work now
before us.
Tonight, the president focused a lot of attention on our economy
in general -- and on our deficit and debt in particular.
He was right to do so, and some of his words were reassuring. As
chairman of the House Budget Committee, I assure you that we want
to work with the president to restrain federal spending.
In one of our first acts in the new majority, House Republicans
voted to cut Congress's own budget. And just today, the House voted
to restore the spending discipline that Washington sorely needs.
The reason is simple.
A few years ago, reducing spending was important. Today, it's
imperative. Here's why: We face a crushing burden of debt. The debt
will soon eclipse our entire economy and grow to catastrophic
levels in the years ahead.
On this current path, when my three children -- who are now 6, 7,
and 8 years old -- are raising their own children, the federal
government will double in size and so will the taxes they pay.
No economy can sustain such high levels of debt and taxation.
The next generation will inherit a stagnant economy and a
diminished country.
Frankly, it's one of my greatest concerns as a parent -- and I
know many of you feel the same way.
Our debt is the product of acts by many presidents and many
Congresses over many years. No one person or party is responsible
for it.
There is no doubt the president came into office facing a severe
fiscal and economic situation.
Unfortunately, instead of restoring the fundamentals of economic
growth, he engaged in a stimulus spending spree that not only
failed to deliver on its promise to create jobs but also plunged us
even deeper into debt.
The facts are clear: Since taking office, President Obama has
signed into law spending increases of nearly 25 percent for
domestic government agencies -- an 84 percent increase when you
include the failed stimulus.
All of this new government spending was sold as "investment."
Yet after two years, the unemployment rate remains above 9 percent
and government has added over $3 trillion to our debt.
Then the president and his party made matters even worse, by
creating a new open-ended health care entitlement.
What we already know about the president's health care law is
this: Costs are going up, premiums are rising and millions of
people will lose the coverage they currently have. Job creation is
being stifled by all of its taxes, penalties, mandates and fees.
Businesses and unions from around the country are asking the
Obama administration for waivers from the mandates. Washington
should not be in the business of picking winners and losers. The
president mentioned the need for regulatory reform to ease the
burden on American businesses. We agree -- and we think his health
care law would be a great place to start.
Last week, House Republicans voted for a full repeal of this
law, as we pledged to do, and we will work to replace it with
fiscally responsible, patient-centered reforms that actually reduce
costs and expand coverage.
Health care spending is driving the explosive growth of our
debt. And the president's law is accelerating our country toward
bankruptcy.
Our debt is out of control. What was a fiscal challenge is now a
fiscal crisis.
We cannot deny it; instead we must, as Americans, confront it
responsibly.
And that is exactly what Republicans pledge to do.
Americans are skeptical of both political parties, and that
skepticism is justified -- especially when it comes to spending. So
hold all of us accountable.
In this very room, the House will produce, debate and advance a
budget. Last year -- in an unprecedented failure -- Congress chose
not to pass, or even propose a budget. The spending spree continued
unchecked.
We owe you a better choice and a different vision.
Our forthcoming budget is our obligation to you -- to show you
how we intend to do things differently : how we will cut spending
to get the debt down; help create jobs and prosperity and reform
government programs. If we act soon, and if we act responsibly,
people in and near retirement will be protected.
These budget debates are not just about the programs of
government, they're also about the purpose of government.
So I'd like to share with you the principles that guide us. They
are anchored in the wisdom of the founders, in the spirit of the
Declaration of Independence, and in the words of the American
Constitution.
They have to do with the importance of limited government and
with the blessing of self-government.
We believe government's role is both vital and limited -- to
defend the nation from attack and provide for the common defense:
to secure our borders, to protect innocent life, to uphold our laws
and Constitutional rights, to ensure domestic tranquility and equal
opportunity and to help provide a safety net for those who cannot
provide for themselves.
We believe that the government has an important role to create
the conditions that promote entrepreneurship, upward mobility and
individual responsibility.
We believe, as our founders did, that "the pursuit of
happiness" depends upon individual liberty, and individual liberty
requires limited government.
Limited government also means effective government. When
government takes on too many tasks, it usually doesn't do any of
them very well. It's no coincidence that trust in government is at
an all-time low now that the size of government is at an all-time
high.
The president and the Democratic leadership have shown, by their
actions, that they believe government needs to increase its size
and its reach, its price tag and its power.
Whether sold as "stimulus" or repackaged as "investment,"
their actions show they want a federal government that controls too
much, taxes too much and spends too much in order to do too much.
And during the last two years, that is exactly what we have
gotten -- along with record deficits and debt -- to the point where
the president is now urging Congress to increase the debt limit.
We believe the days of business as usual must come to an end. We
hold to a couple of simple convictions: Endless borrowing is not a
strategy; spending cuts have to come first.
Our nation is approaching a tipping point.
We are at a moment, where if government's growth is left
unchecked and unchallenged, America's best century will be
considered our past century. This is a future in which we will
transform our social safety net into a hammock, which lulls
able-bodied people into lives of complacency and dependency.
Depending on bureaucracy to foster innovation, competitiveness
and wise consumer choices has never worked -- and it won't work now.
We need to chart a new course.
Speaking candidly, as one citizen to another: We still have
time, but not much time. If we continue down our current path, we
know what our future will be.
Just take a look at what's happening to Greece, Ireland, the
United Kingdom and other nations in Europe. They didn't act soon
enough, and now their governments have been forced to impose
painful austerity measures: large benefit cuts to seniors and huge
tax increases on everybody.
Their day of reckoning has arrived. Ours is around the corner.
That is why we must act now.
Some people will back away from this challenge. But I see this
challenge as an opportunity to rebuild what Lincoln called the
"central ideas" of the republic.
We believe a renewed commitment to limited government will
unshackle our economy and create millions of new jobs and
opportunities for all people, of every background, to succeed and
prosper. Under this approach, the spirit of initiative -- not
political clout -- determines who succeeds.
Millions of families have fallen on hard times not because of
our ideals of free enterprise -- but because our leaders failed to
live up to those ideals, because of poor decisions made in
Washington and Wall Street that caused a financial crisis,
squandered our savings, broke our trust and crippled our economy.
Today, a similar kind of irresponsibility threatens not only our
livelihoods but our way of life.
We need to reclaim our American system of limited government,
low taxes, reasonable regulations and sound money, which has
blessed us with unprecedented prosperity. And it has done more to
help the poor than any other economic system ever designed. That's
the real secret to job creation -- not borrowing and spending more
money in Washington.
Limited government and free enterprise have helped make America
the greatest nation on earth.
These are not easy times, but America is an exceptional nation.
In all the chapters of human history, there has never been anything
quite like America. The American story has been cherished, advanced
and defended over the centuries.
And it now falls to this generation to pass on to our children a
nation that is stronger, more vibrant, more decent and better than
the one we inherited.
Thank you and good night.