State of the Union

Floor Speech

Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. President, tonight we will gather in the House Chamber to listen to the President's State of the Union Address. This will be the first time in Barack Obama's Presidency that he delivers a State of the Union Address to a Republican-led House and Senate. Some see this as a prescription for gridlock. Others, including myself, see this as an opportunity for the executive branch and the legislative branch to work together to actually get some things done. There is recent precedent that shows this arrangement can work. In fact, it is a period of our history where an Arkansan played a huge role.

During the final 6 years of Bill Clinton's Presidency, he faced the same situation as our current President. He worked with Republicans to reform the welfare system. He worked with Republicans

to balance the budget--an accomplishment that hasn't been repeated since. He worked with Congress--not tried to go around them.

Now, I don't expect us to always agree. There are stark ideological differences between President Obama and our Republican majority for which there is really no agreement to be had without one side or the other abandoning their principles, and certainly I do not intend to do that. I don't see the President doing that either. What I do hope is that the President will find common ground with not only Congress but the American people. When that happens, work gets done here.

Even in the last Congress, with a Democratic majority in the Senate blocking almost everything in an effort to protect President Obama, we still had flashes of bipartisan agreement. We agreed on the new farm bill, which ensures the continued safety, affordability, and reliability of our food supply while achieving real savings in Federal spending. We reformed the VA to address the horrific wait times our veterans face while trying to receive the health care they earned. And we passed a spending agreement that brings discretionary spending to its lowest level in almost a decade and has a number of provisions that adhere to conservative principles.

Both parties did not get everything they wanted in any of these instances, but the final product was the result of individuals coming from different starting points and arriving at the same finish line. That is what the American people want, but that takes an honest commitment from all parties involved.

One way the President can show he is really ready to work with Congress is to abandon his misguided plan to circumvent Congress and grant amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants. I anticipate that President Obama will try tonight, once again, to defend his actions by blaming Congress for not passing immigration reform. The truth is everyone in this Chamber is eager to tackle immigration reform.

The President is acting unilaterally because he knows Congress does not support his amnesty proposal. He knows the final product of our work will not include that provision. So he intends to go around Congress to get his way. Now the President seems intent to dig his heels in deeper by threatening to veto our efforts to defund his actions. This is just one of the veto threats President Obama has already issued just weeks into the new Congress. This start doesn't bode well for bipartisanship.

I hope tonight's speech is light on the veto threats and heavy on the areas where we can find common agreement. I think those are plentiful, and I sincerely believe it is possible.

A fair and simple tax system, creating jobs, and making Washington more efficient, effective and accountable--these are the issues that Americans want us to address and areas where compromise is possible. That is where our focus should be and what the country wants--not just what the President wants.

If everyone comes to the table ready to work, I think we can surprise everyone with what we can achieve. But it will take Presidential leadership. An Arkansan showed it can be done. President Obama should look to the example of President Clinton for how to move forward and to work with a Republican Congress.

Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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