The plan for members of Congress to sit with colleagues from the opposite party had mixed results.
There are also very mixed opinions about President Obama's State of The Union Address on Tuesday.
Pennsylvania U.S. Senators Pat Toomey (R) and Bob Casey (D) had agreed to sit together. But when they reached the House chambers, they reportedly could not find two empty seats side-by-side. So they split up during the speech and then met up again when it was over to walk out together.
Here's a sampling of the statements released by local members of Congress after the speech:
U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.)
"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."
U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.)
“President Obama’s charge to the Congress and to the country offered a roadmap to promote American prosperity and security. The challenge we face together is to make America more competitive, prepare workers for the 21st Century and rebuild our economy for the future. Senator Toomey and I don’t agree on everything, but we do agree on the importance of working together for Pennsylvania and for the country."
U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-Pa.-6th District)
"The President’s call for rooting out wasteful spending that hampers the effectiveness and efficiency of government and simplifying our tax code to improve the competitiveness of American job creators was extremely encouraging. If the President is truly committed to the principles of ending unsustainable budget deficits fueled by reckless spending and eliminating the barriers to job growth and prosperity posed by unreasonable mandates and huge tax hikes in the health care law, then he will find plenty of allies on both sides of the aisle."
U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ-1st District)
"Job creation is the most important issue for South Jerseyans and all Americans. It should be the absolute highest priority for Congress this year. Because of a lack of confidence, much of which is founded on the growing problem of our deficit and debt, businesses with cash are holding on to the money they have instead of hiring. Many businesses have no resources at all. The President is right to call on Democrats and Republicans to work together on ideas that will lower the deficit, and restore confidence in our markets. Confidence in our economy will promote private sector investment, and private sector investment will create jobs. I look forward to these efforts to put Americans back to work."
U.S. Rep. Jon Runyan (R-NJ-3rd District)
"The only surefire way to fix our economy and create jobs is to cut taxes, reduce spending and shrink the size of government. That's what voters demanded last November and that's what we need to focus on. While I agree with President Obama's call for bipartisan cooperation and applaud his desire to build a better future for our children, I don't think he went far enough when it comes to demanding that we live within our means as a government. In fact, his proposed freeze on annual domestic spending over the next five years merely locks in the astounding spending levels of the last several years, which the American people soundly rejected in November. We can do better, and I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do just that over the next two years."
