By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
On Tuesday, January 20, President Barack H. Obama delivered his State of The Union address to a packed joint session of Congress. Congressman Bradley Byrne (R-Montrose) dismissed the President’s State of the Union as a “Liberal Wish List” in his written response. Congresswoman Martha Roby (R from Montgomery) called the President’s plan to raise taxes on millions of Americans, “offensive.”
Representative Byrne issued a written following statement in following President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address in which Byrne said, “Tonight, President Obama offered a liberal wish list instead of putting forward realistic solutions that address the serious issues plaguing the American people. Yet again the President has pushed an agenda designed at growing the federal government, not growing American’s paychecks. Families and small businesses don’t want a bigger, more heavy-handed federal government. The people I represent want a federal government that is efficient, effective and accountable.”
Congresswoman Roby delivered her response on video. The conservative Congresswoman said, “Yet again, President Obama thinks that the answer to every problem is to continue to raise taxes. We can’t lift up one part of the population by bringing down another.”
Rep. Byrne said, “Instead of focusing on areas where Republicans and Democrats can work together, the President once again pledged more executive action and asked for higher taxes. President Obama should look at the examples set by Presidents Reagan, Clinton, and Bush, who all had to work with a Congress controlled by the opposite party. Despite their differences, these men were able to find legislative success because they made a serious effort to work with the Congress. President Obama can’t simply show up on Capitol Hill once a year, make some demands, and expect Congress to just fall in line.”
Rep. Roby said that she was glad to hear the president bring up the need for more flexibility in the workplace, but warned that more federal mandates are not the answer. Rep. Roby said, “This has been a priority of mine for some time, so I think it’s absolutely fabulous that the president is talking about more flexibility in the workplace. But, we have to be realistic about how we approach these type policies.”
Rep. Roby however warned that, “The White House’s previous attempts to dictate how the workplace operates have already cost workers’ hours and income. Employers are drowning in red tape and mandates as it is, and the last thing we need is more federal mandates.”
Representative Roby announced that she plans to release her own bill later this week. Rep. Roby said, “The Working Families Flexibility Act that I am going to introduce tomorrow is a realistic approach to offering employees more choices with their time at work so they can make the best decisions about how to balance their family life. Compensatory time, or ‘comp time,’ allows employers and employees to work together in a voluntary agreement to see what fits, rather than having the federal government tell them. This bill doesn’t dictate more rules and mandates; it removes an outdated and unnecessary restriction in the Fair Labor Standards Act to provide for more flexibility.”
Rep. Byrne said, “From the war against ISIL to our growing skills gap to the still recovering economy, our nation needs serious leadership and the people want to see tangible results. In the House of Representatives, we will continue to advance a commonsense agenda that tackles the issues Americans face every day. I sincerely hope the President holds true to his word and joins us in advancing these sensible solutions.”
Rep. Roby responded to the President’s plan to raise more than $300 billion in new taxes with skepticism. Rep. Roby said, “Yet again, President Obama thinks that the answer to every problem is to continue to raise taxes. We can’t lift up one part of the population by bringing down another…Last year, did you know that the federal government took in more than $3 trillion in revenue? We don’t have a revenue problem. We have a spending problem.”
Rep. Roby said, “I actually think it is offensive for the White House to again ask hardworking taxpayers to give even more of their hard-earned money to the government after all the waste, fraud and abuse that has gone on over the last several years. Who would want to send this government one more dime?”
To see Rep. Roby’s full response:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zydm44ZFqSk&authuser=0
Congresswoman Martha Roby represents Alabama’s Second Congressional District. Congressman Bradley Byrne represents Alabama’s First Congressional District.
