In response to President Obama's speech on deficit reduction, Governor Mark Dayton said:

"President Obama today articulated a balanced approach to bringing down the national deficit with fairness and shared responsibility. He wisely protects the middle class while asking the richest Americans to share the responsibility and the sacrifice of debt reduction. Equally important, he protects investments in education, transportation and other infrastructure that support job growth and American competitiveness.

His approach stands in stark contrast to the proposals put forward by Republicans in Congress, who ask America's middle class and senior citizens to shoulder much more than their share of the responsibility for reducing the Nation's debt."