Unsurprisingly, the Republican members of the Pennsylvania delegation were not pleased with the authoritative, forceful nature of last night’s speech. Check out what your congressman or woman, Senator and governor had to say about the 2014 State of the Union.

Governor Tom Corbett [R] from campaign manager Mike Barley

“President Obama continues to lead our country in the wrong direction and had nothing new to say tonight to the Pennsylvania taxpayers and small businesses who have lost their health care plans, doctors and hard-earned money because of ObamaCare. We can expect to hear more of the same tax-and-spend policies failing us in Washington from the president in Western Pennsylvania tomorrow and over the next nine months from the Democratic gubernatorial candidates and eventual nominee as they try to bring the failed Obama big government agenda to Harrisburg.”

SENATORS

Sen. Robert “Bob” Casey Jr. [D]

“I am gratified that the President made jobs and the economy the central focus of his State of the Union address. Despite recent economic progress, far too many Americans are still struggling to get back on their feet. If you work hard and play by the rules, you should have the opportunity to succeed. I was encouraged by the President’s emphasis on worker training programs, hiring incentives and pay equity to ensure workers have the chance to get ahead. Responsible development of natural gas is something I have pushed for a long time and the President’s proposal will help create jobs in Pennsylvania while at the same time decreasing our dependence on foreign oil. I was also glad to see that the President underscored his commitment to early education and research to ensure our nation’s long-term global competitiveness. I look forward to working with Republicans and Democrats to advance these efforts along with additional job creation measures like my bipartisan small business bill so that we can grow the economy and strengthen the middle class.”

Sen. Patrick “Pat” Toomey [R]

“The problems the President decried tonight have grown far worse as a direct result of his policies. Now he is threatening to double down on those failed policies with unilateral executive fiats that may exceed his constitutional and legal authority.

“The President overstated the extent of the economy’s recovery under his policies. In fact, the labor force participation is at its lowest point in 35 years because more and more people have become so discouraged with our dismal job market that they have given up looking for work in the Obama economy. Median family income is down by $2,000 since he took office. And the very income inequality the President spoke of has exploded under his leadership, so that today there is a wider gap than there was under President Bush and even prior to the Great Depression in 1928.

“There are ways to create jobs and a more robust economy where all incomes rise – for women and men, upper and lower income, everyone. For instance, I have a bill with Democratic Senator Menendez to help small business grow and hire workers. I support tax reform that would spur economic growth and enable American workers to compete successfully against foreign workers.

“From 2007 to 2012, the places that saw median household income grow were predominantly energy producing areas. Let’s approve the Keystone XL pipeline which would create many jobs for Pennsylvania-based contractors and suppliers and allow the production of oil and gas on more federal lands to diminish our dependence on foreign energy.

“I am glad President Obama stressed the need for Trade Promotion Authority tonight. On a bipartisan basis, we must allow the President to complete trade deals that will open up foreign markets for Pennsylvania exports. While we disagree on other economic issues, I am reassured that our President remains committed to maintaining America’s role as a global trade leader.

“I remain eager to work with the President on this issue and other efforts that will grow our economy.”

REPRESENTATIVES

Numerical by congressional district:

Rep. Robert Brady [D]
No statement.

Rep. Chaka Fattah [D]

Tonight the President’s message in the State of the Union was loud and clear; our country is at its best when we are buoyed by a strong middle class. The initiatives President Obama put forward offer a solid, achievable roadmap to lifting up hardworking American families, and ensuring that every woman or man is able to earn a decent wage and send their children to college.

We must remember that our country is only as strong as the individuals and communities within it, and it is time to bring more security, and greater opportunity to the ones who need it most. I join the President in turning these words into action.

Rep. Mike Kelly [R]

“For the fourth year in a row, I listened live as President Obama spoke boldly and ambitiously, and for the fourth year in a row, I heard him fail to acknowledge the true solutions that our country desperately needs or accurately describe the true challenges that so many Americans are facing. While the president once again depicted a far-reaching agenda sure to please his political base, his speech once again provided the wrong answers to the wrong questions.

“Tomorrow the president will have the privilege of visiting our backyard in Western Pennsylvania and meeting the people I’ve had the honor of knowing my entire life. Like all Americans, especially those on hard times, they crave leadership that paves the way for poverty-crushing opportunities and family-sustainable jobs to finally be created. This requires policies that empower individuals, not government; that accommodate not minimal expectations but every American’s maximum God-given potential. As Ronald Reagan once put it, ‘America is too great for small dreams.’

“Disappointingly but not surprisingly, throughout tonight’s speech, we did not hear about the millions of Americans who’ve seen their health plans shattered by Obamacare, including at least 250,000 Pennsylvanians; we did not hear about the 92 million Americans out of the workforce, the most dire level since 1978; we did not hear about the $17 trillion of national debt that is threatening our children and grandchildren’s future every single day. These figures describe the real state of our union, and they are what the president would hear about if he actually listens to the people of Western Pennsylvania during his trip tomorrow.

“As expected, tonight we did hear about the president’s willingness to use what he’s called his ‘phone and pen’ to push his unaffordable agenda, apparently regardless of popular will or congressional involvement. What most of us view as a system of checks and balances to cherish, the president seemingly sees as an inconvenience to ignore. This sort of attitude is inconsistent with our representative government’s founding purpose, and I will join my colleagues to oppose it whenever and however we must.

“Instead of threatening to circumvent Congress when the democratic process doesn’t go his way, President Obama should use his ‘phone’ to call Harry Reid in the Senate and insist that he approve the dozens of House-passed jobs bills stuck on his desk, and then use his ‘pen’ to finally sign those bills into law.

“If the president truly wants to make a 2014 a ‘year of action’ as he claimed tonight, then he should work with Congress and listen to the American people – not around Congress or for narrow political interests – to help unleash America’s full economic potential put our citizens back to work with good jobs and bright hope for the future.”

Rep. Scott Perry [R]

Rep. Glenn Thompson [R]

“With recent passage of a bipartisan budget deal, Congress has shown that it can work together. I would encourage the President to continue on this path and to focus on areas where we can find common ground. In the immediate future, issues such as comprehensive tax reform, the further development of domestic resources and technologies, and expanding job opportunities through the promotion of education and job training at all levels. These are all areas that have broad support and are ripe for collaborative action. Divided government isn’t easy, but we must strive to make it work.”

Rep. Jim Gerlach [R]

“When the President talks about bypassing Congress and using executive orders to advance his political agenda, what he’s really saying is that he’s willing to bypass the American people. Taking unilateral action is not the way to make Washington work better and regain the public’s trust. If the President truly wants this to be a “year of action”, my colleagues and I in the House have already started to work on creating a more taxpayer-friendly tax code that promotes job creation and economic growth, implementing an all-of-the-above energy policy that will ease the strain on family budgets and bolster our economy and providing real health-care reform that gives individuals more options and greater access to high-quality care. We’d welcome the President using his phone to ask Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to work with the House on these ideas and look forward to the President using his pen to sign some of these practical solutions into law.”

Rep. Patrick Meehan [R]

“The President’s speech tonight was a missed opportunity,” said Rep. Meehan. “I had hoped to hear President Obama set the tone for the new year – Congress and the White House working together to address the challenges we face. But it’s clear that the President is more interested in working around Congress than working side-by-side with it.”

Meehan was joined in the House Gallery tonight by Kimberly Wise, the President of Mustang Expediting, a woman-owned small business located in Aston, Delaware County.

“Where were the President’s solutions for small businesses like Mustang?” Meehan said. “Obamacare, red tape, rules and regulations, uncertainty – nowhere did the President address the challenges Washington creates for small and medium-sized businesses across the country.

“I’m going to continue to work with my colleagues, both Republicans and Democrats, to lift Washington’s burdens on job-creators.”

Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick [R]

“The President says that we need 2014 to be a ‘year of action’ – I agree, but he needs to work with Congress, not around it. There is room for agreement between both parties – something we saw glimmers of tonight.

The hardworking taxpayers of Bucks and Montgomery counties – and families nationwide – deserve a government with a common sense, bipartisan plan to kick start our nation’s economy and Americans back to work.

At the end of the day, increasing opportunity for everyone remains my number one goal and I hope the President will join me. By working together – across party lines – we can take action to lower the cost of health care, improve education, reduce tax and regulatory burdens on small businesses and put our nation on a path to energy independence.”

Rep. Bill Shuster [R]

“Last night the President told the American people that he is doubling down on his war on Coal. Today I am inviting him to visit the recently shuttered Hatfield Ferry Power Plant after his stop at U.S. Steel in West Mifflin where he can see the real effect his war on coal has on Pennsylvanians, instead of a staged visit,” said Shuster. “I’ve already calculated the distance, it’s only a 45 minute trip to the Hatfield Power Plant in Masontown where he can see what’s left standing after they were forced to close and 380 jobs were lost. I’m sure his motorcade or Marine-1 could easily fly by. The president’s job-killing polices and campaign-style visits aren’t enough to reverse the consequences of this administration’s reckless decisions on Southwestern Pennsylvanians.”

Congressman Shuster challenged the president to put the workers of western Pennsylvania first instead of liberal special interests.

“President Obama hasn’t just waged a war on coal – he’s waged a war on all of us. The 380 jobs lost in this plant are just the tip of the iceberg. Obama’s wrong on energy, its time he comes before the people of southwestern PA and explains why he continues to ‘bankrupt’ our jobs and our energy supply.”

Rep. Tom Marino [R]

Not surprisingly, in his fifth State of the Union address, the President failed to offer America any new solutions to the challenges we face. The President could have proposed policies to spur private sector job creation by working with Republicans to lower healthcare costs, rein in Washington’s out of control spending, and cut bureaucratic red tape. President Obama reaffirmed his commitment to recklessly increasing spending without budging on reasonable offsets. Instead of solutions, we heard more lies and campaign-style rhetoric purposely designed to divide our union along race, gender, and class lines.

Over the last five years, President Obama’s failed policies and broken promises have resulted in nearly 8 million underemployed Americans, 5 million cancelled health insurance plans, the lowest level of labor force participation since 1978, 1 in 7 Americans enrolled in the food stamp program, and 68 percent of Americans saying the county is in the same state or worse off than it was when the President took office.

Instead of focusing on divisive politics, I know that House Republicans stand ready to act and I will work with anyone – Republican, Democrat, or Independent – to create opportunities for hardworking Americans and address the debt and deficit. Real solutions to the challenges our country is facing do exist and together, if we put aside the politics of division, I am confident we can end the gridlock and enact common sense solutions for the good of the United States and for future generations of citizens.

Rep. Lou Barletta [R]

“Tonight, the president tried to convince us that our economy is better off today than it was when he first took office. However, our national debt is 18 trillion dollars and growing, the roll-out of the Affordable Care Act has proven disastrous, and executive overreach has become the new normal in Washington.

“The president talks about “income inequality” but his policies have done nothing to help close that gap, much less spur the economy or create jobs. I believe the best way to address this divide is to put hardworking Americans back to work. We should invest in our small businesses, our infrastructure, and the next generation of our nation’s workforce. More government regulations will only add fuel to the fire, amplifying existing problems that our country cannot afford.

“On immigration reform, I’m unconvinced that ‘legal status’ is anything less than the functional equivalent of amnesty. I’ve seen very little throughout this debate to assure me that we will permanently secure our borders. Failure to do so will repeat the mistakes of the 1986 amnesty law that gave birth to the illegal immigration crisis our country has faced for the last two decades.
“This past year Americans suffered countless broken promises from the president. If we hope to ensure equal opportunities for all Americans, a ‘pen and phone’ strategy is not the answer.”

Rep. Keith Rothfus [R]

“Western Pennsylvanians will welcome President Obama to our region tomorrow,” said Rothfus. “It’s great that he is visiting U.S. Steel and the highly-skilled men and women who work there. But, while he is in Western Pennsylvania, I wish he would take time to meet with my constituents who have seen their premiums increase, lost their health care plans, or lost their jobs due to his policies. Washington should focus on an agenda that is fair to people like Laurie, Don, Karen, Danny, Nancy, and Michelle. The President can show that he cares about them and their neighbors by working with the House to advance common-sense health care reform and long-term solutions that empower people and provide families with economic security.”

Rep. Allyson Schwartz [D]

“President Obama made clear that America’s economic prosperity depends on a strong, growing middle class and opportunity for those who work hard and want a brighter future for themselves and their families. The American people want action. Congress must work together on a plan to expand economic opportunity and strengthen the middle class. We must seize this moment to build a strong foundation for economic growth that promotes fairness, creates job opportunities, and ensures access to quality education and job training so all Americans can thrive.”

Rep. Michael “Mike” Doyle Jr. [D]
No statement.

Rep. Charles Dent [R]

Tonight the President laid out his vision for how to address the problems facing Americans. The President commented that income inequality is growing stating, “too many people are still not working,” and that we need to rise above the rancor in Washington.

I agree.

Unfortunately, the more the President talks about income inequality the more income inequality we seem to get. Unemployment remains high and the economic recovery remains unacceptably slow. Meanwhile, Washington has never been more divided.

The President should not look for creative ways to subvert Congress to address these challenges. He should reach out and work constructively with those of us who put forward solutions and are willing to work with anyone, regardless of party affiliation, to solve problems and advance our great nation.

We have opportunities to work together – if the President is willing. We can encourage domestic energy production to create jobs, reform and repeal provisions of the President’s health care law that are destroying jobs, make the tax code simpler and fairer, and focus on improving the education of our children to make them better prepared for the 21st century job market.

Our nation faces many difficult challenges, but these challenges are nothing we haven’t overcome before or can’t overcome now – with responsible leaders working to solve the problems facing the American people.

Rep. Joseph Pitts [R]

“I’m disappointed that the President again talked about going around Congress. Tonight, I sat next to my Democratic counterpart on the Health Subcommittee, Frank Pallone. Last year, we worked together to get six bills from our subcommittee signed into law.

“That is proof that we can cooperate in a bipartisan manner and get things done. The President’s first press secretary, Robert Gibbs, said this week that he believes the President has given up on trying to change Washington. I certainly have not.

“This year, I am going to continue looking for opportunities to bridge the divide. First we need to focus on creating more high quality private sector jobs. We should make sure the government lives within its means and stops putting more debt on our children and grandchildren. We need real health reform that increases competition and reduces costs. We should find more ways to provide equal opportunity for people of every class.

“Those are lofty goals, but I wouldn’t be serving in Washington if I didn’t think we could make real progress.”

Rep. Matthew Cartwright [D]

“Our first priority must be economic opportunity, and I commend the President on beginning the conversation by signing an executive order this morning providing a minimum wage increase to $10.10 for federally contracted workers. July will mark five years since the federal minimum wage was last raised, that’s why I support legislation introduced by Senator Tom Harkin and Representative George Miller that would mean a minimum wage of $10.10 by 2016. This policy would provide higher wages for close to 17 million workers by 2016.
“Research suggests that a minimum-wage increase could have a small stimulative effect on the economy as low-wage workers spend their additional earnings, raising aggregate demand and boosting job growth.”

Rep. Tim Murphy [R]

“As the President asks where we can make progress together, I can think of no better or important place to start than helping families in a mental health crisis. This is a critical healthcare need facing our nation that transcends traditional political boundaries, with overwhelming recognition that our current system is failing families and patients in need.
Specifically, I welcome him to join my efforts in advancing the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act so we can address this national emergency and rebuild the nation’s broken mental health system. The mentally ill are not separated by party label: both Republicans and Democrats universally agree on the need to reform mental healthcare. The current system is a national shame and yet there was not a single reference to it by the President tonight. By ignoring what is in the minds and focusing on what is in the hands of those who commit violent acts, the President has tragically missed the point.
The problems plaguing the mental health system, and the lack of investments and reforms we have made on behalf of the millions suffering in silence, is a national embarrassment. We’ve pushed well-meaning parents out of emergency rooms, traded hospital beds for jail cells, and allowed our streets and alleyways to become the last refuge for the seriously mentally ill. It is unethical. It is immoral.
The mentally ill are no more dangerous than anyone else, but for a certain population with untreated schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression, there is an increased risk of violent behavior, resulting in 38,000 annual victims of suicide, an estimated 1,500 homicides, and countless assaults. These individuals deserve our compassion, our attention, and medical help, which is why I introduced the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act (H.R. 3717).
Tomorrow, when the President comes to Pittsburgh, I urge him to take a short detour to the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic (WPIC) of UPMC, the nation’s leading mental health research hospital where employees know all too well the jarring consequences of untreated illness. There, the President can listen to the physicians, the parents, and the patients who have faced the barriers, the stigma, and the flaws in the mental health system. From there, the President should visit the new BRAIN Institute at the University of Pittsburgh where the country’s top scientists are working to chart the path to better treatment and recovery.
We are at the forefront of research, care, and treatment. Let’s not squander the moment. Instead of the trite grip-and-greets, let’s have these words followed by meaningful action. Otherwise, words are just empty gestures of delay and ambivalence.
Now is the time to address the problems of untreated mental illness directly. Since launching my Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee review of the mental health system in January 2013, I’ve repeatedly reached out to the White House to formally engage on this issue. I once again invite the President to work with me and give hope to the millions of families teetering on the verge of tragedy because of the broken mental health system.”