Paulsen Responds to Obama's State of the Union

Erik Paulsen, who represents Minnesota's 3rd District in Congress, was among numerous politicians critical of President Barack Obama's 2012 State of the Union Address.

Paulsen released a statement following the Tuesday evening speech, saying nobody should "be sitting on the sidelines as millions of Americans look to Washington for leadership, cooperation and action. There is hard work to be done to fix a broken Washington and get Americans back to work."

Paulsen continued:

Let’s start by reforming the tax code to make it simpler, fairer and more competitive—including eliminating special interest loopholes.

Tonight, in his speech, the President expressed the need to encourage more domestic manufacturing and keep jobs here in America. The first place he should look is medical device manufacturing, which provides more than 35,000 jobs in Minnesota alone. This American success story has come under assault from our own government and unelected bureaucratic agencies. As a result, American jobs are being forced overseas. We need to repeal the President’s new tax on medical devices and modernize the FDA, so we can keep innovation, manufacturing and jobs here in the United States.

Finally, Washington should make it easier, not harder for businesses to create more high-paying jobs. We need to protect American jobs, not threaten them.

Paulsen—who is up for re-election this fall—is a member of the House Committee on Ways and Means, co-chairs the Congressional Medical Technology Caucus and the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Working Group.