WASHINGTON--Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, issued the following statement after President Obama’s meeting today with Republican senators on Capitol Hill:

“I appreciate the president taking the time to meet with me and other Republican senators today. If he is serious about working with us, it would be a welcome change from his first sixteen months in office, during which time he and congressional leaders have given the American people sky-high deficits, near double-digit unemployment and a Washington takeover of key sectors of our economy, including our health care system, auto manufacturers and financial service industry.

“There was no shortage of issues to discuss – deficit spending, government expansion, job creation, controlling our borders – that I would welcome working with the president to solve,” Hatch added. “For example, we need to start cutting spending, end the federal bailouts and return unused TARP funds to the Treasury to reduce the deficit. Unfortunately, President Obama continues to propose record spending that threatens to bankrupt the country and mortgage not only our children’s future, but also our grandchildren’s and great-grandchildren’s.

“I truly hope this is not a continuation of what we saw from the President the last two years where he talked openly about bringing the country together and working in a bipartisan fashion and then immediately runs to the liberal faction of his supporters and gives them everything they ask for. The sad fact is that this administration has consistently pushed an agenda that has jeopardized the ability of our small businesses and job creators to get our economy moving again. As a result, a record 18 percent of American’s incomes now come from the federal government, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. That needs to change – and I would welcome the president’s help to do that.”