Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, speaking for Republicans, attacked the "irresponsible" economic policies of President Barack Obama's Democratic allies but vowed to find ways to work with the White House.
"All of us want our economy to recover and our nation to prosper," Jindal, much discussed as a possible 2012 White House contender, said in the Republican rejoinder to Obama's debut speech to a joint session of the US Congress.
"So where we agree, Republicans must be the president's strongest partners. And where we disagree, Republicans have a responsibility to be candid and offer better ideas for a path forward," he said in excerpts released to the public.
Jindal, the 37-year-old son of immigrants from Punjab, India, said his parents had taught him that "Americans can do anything" -- a sentiment at the core of Obama's "Yes, We Can" campaign slogan -- but warned that government only stifles individual enterprise.
He took aim at Democrats' 787-billion-dollar economic stimulus package, shaped by Obama, as guaranteeing tax increases in the future while piling more debt on future US generations to fund what Republicans call wasteful projects.
"Who among us would ask our children for a loan, so we could spend money we do not have, on things we do not need? That is precisely what the Democrats in Congress just did. It's irresponsible," he said.
