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"Most Americans understand we can't just cut our way to prosperity," he said. "They know that broad based economic growth requires a balanced approach, with spending cuts and revenue and everybody doing their fair share."
U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) released this statement following the speech:
The President had an opportunity in his State of the Union address to outline a plan to cut federal spending and put us on a fiscally-responsible path,” saidWicker. “Instead, the President’s call for even more tax increases is a step back from solving the problems we face. Bipartisan cooperation will be necessary to address the real drivers of federal spending – health care and entitlement programs. Unfortunately, the President missed an important opportunity.
The president also called for an increase to $9 for the minimum wage and for a smarter government, not a bigger one.
That prompted a response from Cong. Bennie Thompson in favor of the president's recommendations.
Congressman Steven Palazzo also released this statement:
Congress began 2013 with a fiscal cliff “deal” that provided no solutions. At that time, the president’s only plan was to raise taxes. We now face another looming deadline: the devastating across-the-board cuts that threaten everything from domestic spending and entitlement programs to national security programs that have already seen drastic cuts. On the eve of the last State of the Union address, I joined with my House Armed Services Committee colleagues to propose a solution that would replace the mandatory defense cuts for one year. Since then, the Republican majority in the House of Representatives has twice passed bills that would replace these cuts for the first year. Yet we’ve seen no action from the president, and none from the Democrats in the Senate.
I think the American people deserve to have the question answered: “Mr. President, what is your plan?” Many have said that tonight was his opportunity to share that plan. Yet all the president continues to say is more of the same: raise more taxes. Mr. President, higher taxes are not the answer.
I believe tomorrow, and the coming days, hold greater opportunities for the president to actually lead on issues he’s only talked about over the last four years. To get serious about passing and balancing a budget and reducing our debts and our deficits. To embrace an all-of-the-above energy policy, and to protect our national security interests at a time when the world only continues to become more dangerous.
These are the things we have worked to accomplish in the House, these are the things we will continue to work toward to solve the very real problems our country faces. I would welcome the president as a partner in this effort.
