Okla. Speaker: Statehouses Lead Way on Reforms

Statehouses will lead the way on reform in government, Oklahoma House Speaker T.W. Shannon said Monday.

"If there’s going to be reform in this country, it’s going to happen in the halls of state governments," Shannon told "Fox & Friends."

"If you look at what’s happening nationally, one thing that we can all agree on is that we can’t continue to wait for the federal government to lead. Whether it’s in education or economic development, Washington has proven it’s either incapable or unwilling to make the necessary changes," he said.

Shannon, a Republican, specifically credited conservative principles as central to growing the economy.

"We’ve proven that in Oklahoma, conservative principles are what lead to prosperity. This idea of getting people addicted to government, this is a way of the past. We’ve got to move past that and introduce some free-market principles and ideas," Shannon said.

Oklahoma surpassed its goals in job creation and capital investment for 2012-13, according to a report last month in The Oklahoman newspaper. The report said the state assisted with the creation of 4,143 jobs and documented $454 million in capital investment during the time period.

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin is a Republican, and the GOP controls both chambers of the state legislature.

Shannon emphasized the need for Republicans to continue to promote personal responsibility as a means to promote growth.

"I think when you think long-term about the Republican Party, our principles about personal responsibility — that’s what we’ve got to be promoting," Shannon said. "We’re going to be the ones who get this country turned around."