Chairman O'Malley's Statement on the 2012 State of the Union

Washington, DC – DGA Chair Governor Martin O’Malley released this statement following the President’s State of the Union address:
“To create jobs, a modern economy requires modern investments. Tonight, the President laid out the clear choice America is facing: We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while more Americans barely get by. Or we can build a nation where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules.
“Because of the President’s commitment to creating jobs and expanding opportunity now, over the past 22 months our businesses have created 3.2 million private sector jobs. American manufacturing is creating jobs for the first time since the late 1990s. And in Maryland we have been able to put our families back to work, creating 30,300 new jobs in our best year of job creation since 2005 and recovering 45 percent of the jobs we lost during the recession.
“But the President believes that better isn’t good enough. That’s why he’s fighting to move America forward with a blueprint that will grow the economy and put more Americans back to work by boosting U.S. manufacturing, making college more affordable, helping responsible homeowners refinance and making the tax code simpler and fairer for the middle class while reducing the deficit.
“The President’s optimistic vision presents a stark contrast to the bleak view offered by Republican leaders in Congress, Republican candidates for President, and even Republican governors like Mitch Daniels, who gave the Republican response to the President’s speech. Governor Daniels’ decision to push anti-worker legislation at the expense of job creation is symptomatic of the partisan overreach we’re seeing from Republican governors in state houses from Indiana to Ohio to Wisconsin. It’s the reason why we’re seeing such a strong backlash from people who want their governors to focus on creating jobs and expanding opportunity, not on attacking political opponents.”

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