House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, is hoping President Barack Obama will not be offering the “same old ideas” that he has been in his last two State of The Union speeches tomorrow.
Mr. Boehner appeared on Fox News Sunday to give his view of the president’s upcoming State of the Union address.
The House speaker clashed with Mr. Obama on many issues throughout 2011 including the Keystone XL Pipeline project, which Mr. Boehner claims the president should approve because of the jobs it would create and the fact that it would reduce American dependence on foreign oil.
The Ohio lawmaker and many other House Republicans blamed the president for the delay of the approval of the reduced payroll income tax rates that were eventually agreed upon to be extended for two months in late December after weeks of biparisan disagreement regarding the legislation.
“It’s the president’s policies that have made our economy worse,” said Mr. Boehner on Sunday. “Its time for a new direction.”
Despite the differences in their job approval ratings, the Ohio Republican has consistently blamed the president for his lack of action leading to the dismal state of the U.S. economy.
According to a recent New York Times/CBS News poll, President Barack Obama currently has a job approval rating of 46 percent compared to Congressional Republicans who received a job approval rating of 19 percent in the same poll.
Speaker Boehner though told Fox News that the House passed “30 jobs bills” in 2011, but blamed the Senate for not approving any of them.
The 2011 State of The Union Address drew 43 million viewers according to Fox News, so it gives the president his biggest stage to appeal to American voters early in an election year.
A preview of the president’s 2012 State of the Union speech was released Saturday by his re-election campaign team. The preview shows the president will focus on “building an economy that works for everyone, not just a wealthy few.”
The president will also use the speech to again propose his “millionaire’s tax” that has been opposed by House Republicans, as well as deficit cutting measures.
The House recently took a vote to deny the president’s request to raise the national debt limit, although due to a compromise between Mr. Obama and Congress in August of last year, the president has the right to veto their vote and raise the debt limit if he chooses to.
“I’ve read alot about what the president is going to talk about Tuesday night,” said Mr. Boehner Sunday. “It sounds like the same old policies that we’ve seen, more spending, higher taxes, more regulation. If that’s what the president’s going to talk about Tuesday night I think its pathetic.”
Mr. Boehner added that the president should listen to his own jobs council and start pursuing “new policies” to change the tax code and spur job creation.
President Obama will give his 2012 State of The Union speech live from Capitol Hill Tuesday night in front of both chambers of Congress, with Speaker Boehner in attendance.
