Hensarling Statement on House Republican Meeting with President Obama
“Mr. President, we can’t put a price tag on yet another speech. We need to see a plan.”
WASHINGTON – House Republican Conference Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) issued the following statement today after House Republicans met with President Obama at the White House.
“I thank the president for the invitation and the opportunity to have an open dialogue. I was heartened to hear the president acknowledge that there is a very serious debt crisis that’s being driven by entitlement programs and must be addressed.
“Americans are hurting, our economy is suffering, but when I asked the president point blank if he will put forth a specific plan to deal with this debt crisis and get Americans back to work, he said he will not. While the president claimed he’s willing to negotiate, he is still refusing to offer his position. Mr. President, we can’t put a price tag on yet another speech. We can’t negotiate with ourselves. We need to see a plan.
“What the President heard from House Republicans is that jobs are job number one. This overwhelming debt crisis is keeping capital on the sidelines, resulting in tepid economic growth and record unemployment. Our plan will address the greatest impediment we have to job growth today: the lack of confidence in the future.
“Unfortunately what we did not hear from the president is a specific plan to deal with the debt crisis that could actually be scored by the Congressional Budget Office. We hope that there is still an opportunity to work on the drivers of this debt that is costing us jobs. Republicans know that until we have the confidence that we can solve this debt crisis by dealing with the drivers, our entitlement spending, that we are not going to get the kind of jobs the American people want and demand.”
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For additional information, contact:
House Republican Conference Press Office (conferencepress@mail.house.gov)
