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Blunt Offers State of the Union 'Prebuttal'

St. Louis Public Radio

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri says President Obama has "a lot of explaining to do” in his State of the Union address Tuesday.

Blunt offered a preemptive rebuttal to the speech in the GOP’s weekly radio address Saturday, saying Americans are suffering under unnecessary regulation and lackluster job creation.

Obama is expected to call for a “Year of Action” on poverty, but Blunt calls the focus on income inequality “more of the same.”

“We don’t need more class warfare, and don’t need more interference from Washington. No government program can replace what a good job means for the future of a family,” Blunt said. “Republicans are ready to turn these policies around and launch a year of action, starting with fixing our broken health care system.”

Blunt insists that the president’s own policies have hurt poor families disproportionately by stifling job creation.

“This administration’s agenda to create more government to create more government, more spending, more taxes and more debt has created an inequality crisis of opportunity in our country,” Blunt said.

Blunt highlighted Republican priorities, including changes to Obama’s health care law, building the Keystone Pipeline, and reducing government regulation.

The official Republican rebuttal to Obama’s speech will be delivered by Representative Cathy McMorris of Washington following the State of the Union.