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In response the President’s State of the Union address, Congressman Rick Berg called on President Barack Obama to embrace North Dakota's “model of success” as an example for national economic recovery.

“If the President is serious about getting our country back on track, he should come to North Dakota,” Berg urged.  “He should talk to Governor Dalrymple and North Dakota legislators.  He should listen to our small business owners and energy producers and he should see how our state does it.  Because in North Dakota, we know how jobs are created.”

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Berg called on President Obama to look to North Dakota’s long-term energy plan, EMPOWER North Dakota, as the nation works toward an all-of-the above energy strategy, and pushed back against the President’s claim that the Obama administration has “gotten rid of regulations that don’t work.”  To move toward a national long-term energy plan, Berg pressed President Obama to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline and reduce the regulatory burdens that serve as roadblocks to America’s energy producers.

“If the President looked to North Dakota, he would understand the benefits of a long-term, national energy plan that encourages investment in our own natural resources.  He would understand that to create good American jobs and break our dependence on foreign oil, America should look to increase energy production within our own borders.  That means putting an end to the out-of-touch regulations.  It means approving job-creating projects, like the Keystone XL Pipeline.”

Berg also urged the President to offer Americans real solutions to the nation’s problems, instead of offering Americans “more campaign rhetoric.”  Berg called on the President to submit his budget proposals to Congress on time—which the Obama administration has failed to do during three of the past four years—and to push the Democrat-controlled Senate to act on the 28 House-passed bipartisan job-creating bills that currently sit in the Senate and sign them into law.

“We know that the failed stimulus, costly bailouts, and unwanted government takeover of healthcare has driven our nation deeper into debt that our children and grandchildren will be forced to pay off,” Berg added. “The Washington way of doing things isn’t working and it’s time for things to change.  It’s time for the President to take note of the common sense solutions that have worked in North Dakota.  It’s time to make Washington look more like North Dakota.”

Berg’s complete remarks are as follows:

As we begin a new year, the challenges facing our country are more serious than ever.  The stakes—our children and grandchildren’s futures—are high.  Americans are looking for true leadership and real ideas to move our nation forward.

Tonight, President Obama offered the American people more of the same failed, Washington big-government approach that has paralyzed small businesses and driven our nation deep into debt. North Dakotans want solutions, not more campaign rhetoric.

In North Dakota, we know that jobs come from small business, not big government.  We know the value of a pro-business environment that encourages businesses to grow and energy producers to make long-term investments in our state.  We know that creating a budget, and sticking to it, is critical for fiscal stability and economic growth.

Yet the President’s speech tonight comes on the 1,000th day since the Senate has passed a budget, and just one day after the President announced that for the third time in four years, he would not fulfill his legal obligation to present a budget to Congress on time.  In North Dakota, we know that you can’t do the same thing over and over and expect different results. 

If the President is serious about getting our country back on track, he should come to North Dakota.  He should talk to Governor Dalrymple and North Dakota legislators.  He should listen to our small business owners and energy producers and he should see how our state does it.  Because in North Dakota, we know how jobs are created.

Ten years ago, North Dakota had a budget deficit. Our median family income was $36,000.  And we struggled to keep residents from leaving our state.  But, by working with then-Governor John Hoeven, we made the tough choices that the federal government is refusing to make today.  We balanced our budget and removed barriers to private sector and energy growth.  And today, after a decade of common sense policies, the median family income in North Dakota has grown to more than $51,000.  Our unemployment remains the lowest in the nation, and we’re the national leaders in job growth.

If the President looked to North Dakota, he would understand the benefits of a long-term, national energy plan that encourages investment in our own natural resources.  He would understand that to create good American jobs and break our dependence on foreign oil, America should look to increase energy production within our own borders.  That means putting an end to the out-of-touch regulations.  It means approving job-creating projects, like the Keystone XL Pipeline.

And after hearing the President speak tonight, it’s clear that North Dakota’s solutions are needed to get our country back on track. But even if the President continues to ignore North Dakota’s model of success, that doesn’t mean we’re going to stop pursuing it. 

I’ve worked with my colleagues in the House to introduce legislation that would continue to move forward the Keystone project. I also unveiled my R.E.G.S. agenda, to put the brakes on the job-killing government regulations.  And, in the past few months, the House has passed 28 bipartisan job-creating bills which are just sitting in the Democrat-controlled Senate.  To get our economy moving again, the Senate needs to act on these bills and President Obama needs to sign them into law.

As I travel the state and talk to North Dakotans, it is clear that we’re all frustrated.  For years, we have heard the same rhetoric.  Yet almost 2 million Americans are still out of work. Our nation has experienced the longest period of sustained high unemployment since the Great Depression, remaining above 8 percent through every month that President Obama has been in office. 

We know that the failed stimulus, costly bailouts, and unwanted government takeover of healthcare has driven our nation deeper into debt that our children and grandchildren will be forced to pay off.  The Washington way of doing things isn’t working and it’s time for things to change.  It’s time for the President to take note of the common sense solutions that have worked in North Dakota.  It’s time to make Washington look more like North Dakota.