Representative Steve King 5th Congressional District of Iowa
January 27, 2009
King Statement on Meeting with President Obama
Washington, D.C.—Congressman Steve King today issued the following statement after he and other House Republicans met with President Obama in the Capitol building at 12 PM ET/11 AM CT.
“I appreciate the tone that President Obama delivered, and the give and take and exchange of information that we had today. It became clear to me as I listened to his responses that we have some very, very deep philosophical disagreements, and we have a different understanding of history. His understanding of FDR’s initiatives during the Great Depression is that FDR did not do enough. My impression is that FDR’s initiatives delayed the recovery. That’s one conceptual difference that we have.
“I think the private sector should bring economic solutions, not government. I think we should suspend capital gains taxes for at least two years. The President was reluctant to respond to the capital gains question. I want a free market stimulus plan, and it looks like the focus is on a new New Deal and growing a bigger New Deal than we had in the 1930’s.
“We made it clear to the President that Speaker Pelosi and those with the gavels here in the House are not negotiating with Republicans and have locked the door to negotiations. The President wants the door to be open so we can have a dialogue, and I do too.”
