Some statements in the collective inbox:

First, from Marco Rubio:

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“Tonight, I had hoped to hear the President outline real solutions to fundamentally tackle our national debt crisis and help clear the way for urgently needed job creation. Instead, we heard him talk about more ‘investment,’ which is what most Floridians I know would simply call more government spending. Instead of fruitlessly turning to government to create jobs, we should be working to cut spending, promote free enterprise initiatives and give job creators the certainty they need to hire more workers.
“While I was encouraged by the President’s support for an earmark ban and will work with him towards that goal, his call for a mere budget freeze does not go far enough in tackling our record debt. At the very least, we should freeze non-defense and non-veterans discretionary spending to what it was before Washington began its unprecedented, record-setting spending binge two years ago. But most importantly, we need to finally begin fundamentally reforming the way our government spends the American people’s money.
“In 2011, both parties have a golden opportunity for true cooperation on complex issues of great consequence. If we take care of business, our children and grandchildren will one day thank us for giving them the chance to inherit the greatest society in human history. For President Obama and Congressional Democrats, it’s a chance to prove they heard the American people’s call for fiscal discipline in November. For Republicans, it’s a chance to practice what we’ve preached by being responsible stewards of the American people’s tax dollars. As Florida’s senator, I will work with anyone else who believes 2011 has to be the year when we stop postponing the tough decisions.”

Jim DeMint:

“Tonight’s speech should have been called a State of the Stimulus, and the President should have admitted that it failed,” said Senator DeMint. “Two years after the President’s nearly trillion dollar government stimulus, unemployment has increased and remains high, families and businesses are still struggling, and our national debt continues to skyrocket.”
“When the President says ‘investment’ he means bigger federal government and higher taxes. Americans sent a clear message in the 2010 elections. They no longer wish to ‘invest’ in President Obama’s big-spending plans.”
“Instead of growing the federal government, Washington should reduce its control and devolve education and transportation programs to the states that are better handled at the local level.”
“The President spoke of a spending freeze, but we need spending cuts. Not a freeze at record high spending levels. When you’re in a car recklessly speeding toward a cliff, you don’t hit cruise control. You slam on the brakes and reverse course.”
“If President Obama is serious about fixing our nation’s fiscal problems and his call for bipartisanship, he should start by joining Republicans in repealing the partisan ObamaCare law. This government takeover of health care is a threat to our economy and to our nation’s health.”
“The President should also endorse a commonsense Balanced Budget Amendment to require Congress to stop the runaway spending. Congress will never get its fiscal house in order until we are forced to by law.”
“Our nation is still the best and most exceptional on Earth. But America’s greatness is in our freedom and empowerment of the individual, not in the size of government bureaucracies. I hope the President and all Washington politicians heed the call of the November elections that our government must do less, not more.”

Wyoming senator John Barrasso:

“Americans have grown familiar with the President’s regular promises to reduce the debt, cut spending and grow our economy. Yet each year his Administration spends more money, grows Washington and makes it harder for the private sector to create new jobs. Spoken promises have quickly transformed into broken promises.
“Tonight, the President promised again to focus on the economy and cut wasteful Washington spending. Americans understand that tomorrow’s actions matter more than tonight’s speech. If the President is serious about improving our economy, his rhetoric must finally match his record.”

John Cornyn:

“President Obama made a lot of promises tonight in his State of The Union Address – just like he’s done in previous years. In past State of The Union speeches, President Obama has promised to focus on jobs and the economy, yet our unemployment rate still sits well north of nine percent. He promised to make the hard choices and cut spending, yet his policies have added more than $3 trillion to the national debt – in just the last two years. He promised to work across the aisle on energy policy, but nothing has happened. He’s repeatedly promised to make immigration reform a top priority, but has done little more than use it as a talking point around Election Day.
“In Texas we prefer straight talk and promises kept, over grandiose pledges and zero results.
“Tonight, the President said we have to get a handle on our national debt. I couldn’t agree more, but I want to see not just talk, but action. A freeze on some parts of the federal budget—as he suggested—would be a small step in the right direction, but his call for new government spending represents a giant step backwards. The best way to restore fiscal discipline in Washington, I believe, is through a Balanced Budget Amendment to our Constitution, which I intend to introduce with dozens of my colleagues very soon – and I hope the White House will endorse.”

Pat Toomey:

“First and foremost, I welcome President Obama’s emphasis on bipartisanship and civility. I hope to work with the president and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to get spending under control, to create jobs in the private sector and to encourage a booming economic recovery for all Americans.
“I appreciate the president’s discussion of the need to rein in spending, but I’m concerned about what will actually happen. His proposed five-year non-security, discretionary spending freeze represents less than 20 percent of the federal budget. And he’s proposing to freeze the budget at a very high level of spending after recent unprecedented budget increases.
“Furthermore, the president spoke often about the need for new taxpayer-funded investments. It is important, however, to remember that ‘investment’ is what the administration called the stimulus—the $800 billion spending bill that failed to create jobs and piled more deficits on the backs of the American people.
“The message from the American people is clear: we need substantial spending cuts and budget reforms now. We can’t afford to wait, especially as Congress faces a critical vote on the debt ceiling in the coming months.
“The president also spoke about jobs, but the government can’t create jobs. If the president wants to spur hiring and innovation in the private sector, he needs to remove barriers and reduce onerous regulations. If he wants to make it easier for entrepreneurs to develop the next life-saving patent or the next great invention, I support him. But if his idea of job creation is for the government to favor industries with taxpayer subsidies, that won’t work.
“Pennsylvanians have the talent, skills and ingenuity needed to create jobs, and they can keep our nation competitive if government gets out of the way. If we cut taxes on our businesses, if we rein in our spending, if we remove burdensome regulations, we can prosper again.”

Wisconsin House freshman Sean Duffy:

“I was encouraged by the tone of the President’s speech, and hopeful about his promise to finally pivot to job creation.
“We need to focus like a laser on pro-growth policies that will incentivize investment, promote job creation and get our economy moving again. We need to empower the American entrepreneur and free our small businesses from burdensome federal mandates and regulations.
“We also need to take serious steps to tackle our nation’s deficit and debt problem. There is wide acknowledgment that our current fiscal path is unsustainable and we need to take action if we want to preserve the American Dream for future generations.
“As we continue the public debate on how to get our economy moving again, create jobs and put our country on the path to prosperity, I am committed to working in a respectful and bipartisan way to enact policies that will work for Wisconsin and the American People.”

Louisiana senator David Vitter:

“The reaction to the speech in the chamber was the most muted I’ve ever seen. I think it’s because folks know that bipartisan symbols and pretty speeches are nice, but what really matters to Louisianians is the follow-through.
“What we need from the president is a major policy shift, not just new rhetoric.
“President Obama’s five-year spending freeze now must be put in context of the last two years of outrageous increases we’ve experienced. We’ve had a nearly $600 billion increase in spending in the last two years, and our debt shot up $3 trillion. When put in that context, this freeze is not meaningful.
“I certainly welcome the president talking about making America competitive. If he’s serious about that, he’ll lift the de facto drilling moratorium in the Gulf and stop growing bureaucracy and regulation. President Obama still has the Gulf of Mexico virtually shut down to oil and gas activity nine months after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, and onshore, federal permitting for domestic energy resources has been reduced by a whopping 79 percent since he took office.
“I believe it is also important to note that the president mentioned ‘invest’ or ‘investment’ a combined thirteen times. He called the bloated stimulus bill an investment; if past is prologue, I fear this is code for more spending,” said Vitter.

Speaker Boehner:

We were honored to receive President Obama in the people’s House tonight for his State of the Union address. I appreciate the fact that the president recognizes the need to reach out and work together whenever possible.
“As I’ve stated in the past, when the president is willing to work with us on the people’s priorities, we’ll be ready to work with him. Unfortunately, even as he talked about the need for fiscal discipline, President Obama called for more ‘stimulus’ spending without making a commitment to the cuts and reforms the American people are demanding. Adding to our debt and pushing us closer to bankruptcy for the sake of more ‘stimulus’ spending will not make our nation more competitive. A partial freeze is inadequate at a time when we’re borrowing 41 cents of every dollar we spend, and the Administration is begging for another increase in the debt limit. Rather than lock in the job-crushing spending binge of the last two years, we are working to carry out our pledge to cut spending to pre-‘stimulus,’ pre-bailout levels and impose real spending caps. The people sent us here to focus on creating jobs and cutting spending, and that’s exactly what we intend to do.
“In the Republican Address, Paul Ryan did an excellent job of defining the size and scope of our fiscal challenges. It was exactly the kind of straightforwardness the people are expecting from us right now. He offered the American people a positive vision of how a smaller, less costly, and more accountable government can promote private sector job creation and lasting prosperity.”

Tom Coburn:

“The president had an opportunity to give budget and entitlement reform real momentum but stopped short. He did what presidents often do and deferred the hard choices to Congress. No doors were slammed, and areas for cooperation remain open. Yet, the task of putting our nation on a sustainable path will be much more difficult absent strong presidential leadership.
“The president’s biggest push was to advance an argument he has made many times in the past – that the government is a vital partner in making investments and spurring innovation. The problem is we’ve had countless Sputnik moments in recent decades that have created little more than space junk. Congress continuously launches programs with great fanfare but rarely tracks or measures their progress. Then, when we want launch a new program we’re surprised when it overlaps with an existing program.
“The best way to spur the kind of innovation we need is for government to get out of the way, reduce our debt burden, and allow capital to flow to the most promising and productive enterprises. The five-year spending freeze the president proposed excludes most of the budget and hardly amounts to serious deficit reduction when we are already running trillion dollar annual deficits. Locking in current spending levels locks in dangerous deficits and gives everyone’s sacred cows a new lease on life. Borrowing a trillion dollars to stimulate the economy is stealing from the future, not investing in the future.”