WASHINGTON D.C. – House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) issued the following statement in response to President Obama’s event in Richmond:

“The uncertainty caused by President Obama’s policies have caused millions of Americans to lose their jobs and millions of others to remain unemployed. We all know someone who has lost their job or taken a pay cut, and small business people are struggling to keep the lights on and make payroll each month. For President Obama to come to Richmond to push for tax increases on the very small business people we need to start hiring again shows just how out of touch his economic policies are. In this economy no one should have their taxes increased, and there is a bipartisan majority in Congress that would support legislation to ensure that, yet Speaker Pelosi and President Obama are blocking that vote from happening prior to the November elections.

“I was also disappointed to see the President once again continue to point fingers and blame others, when instead we should be working together to get our economy back on track. Americans – Virginians in particular – are tired of attempts to demonize success, which only serves to erode the American dream that has always rewarded those who dare to take a risk, start their own businesses, and employ others. Despite the President’s claims to the contrary, we’ve offered hundreds of billions of dollars in spending cuts and many solutions to help small businesses expand that he has simply ignored. Virginians are tired of exactly that kind of political posturing, and until the President understands that, his economic message simply cannot be taken seriously.

“President Obama’s plan to increase taxes is not just a hike on the wealthy few, as he once again falsely claimed today. Roughly half of all small business income in America will face a higher tax rate if Congress fails to act. Small businesses make up ninety-eight percent of employers in the Commonwealth, and the President’s plan to increase taxes is a direct assault on job creation and innovation. President Obama may want to pretend otherwise, but the stale message that he brought to Virginia today won’t help a single person get back to work, and that’s where my focus is.”