HOUSE Republican Leader John Boehner

The White House’s Cloudy Transparency Initiative

Seeing an opportunity to start a discussion on transparency in government spending with the American people, Leader Boehner recently submitted an idea to the White House’s “open government initiative.”  The Boehner-submitted idea, a 72-hour mandatory minimum public review proposal on spending legislation, is backed by a wide range of outside groups including the pro-transparency Sunlight Foundation and the nonpartisan American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a coalition of reform-minded state legislators.  Leader Boehner’s submission also asked that President Obama make good on his promise to provide for five days of public comment on all legislation before being signed into law. To date, President Obama is one for 23 in providing that review period.

In announcing the “Open Government Initiative,” the Administration welcomed any and all ideas on increasing openness and transparency, saying:

We are seeking innovative approaches to policy, specific project suggestions, government-wide or agency-specific instructions, and any relevant examples and stories relating to law, policy, technology, culture, or practice.

This is an ideal forum for the 72 hour / 5 day reviews, especially considering the established support of the public…and the President himself.  Thousands of Americans agreed, and at the conclusion of the scheduled voting period, the idea received more votes than any other.  So, surely the White House took the idea into consideration, right?  Not so much.  When ideas from the “brainstorm” phase were chosen to move forward for further development it was apparent that the Administration officials handpicked them with no regard for public support or merit.  In a White House blog post “Wrap-Up of the Open Government Brainstorming: Transparency,” White House Deputy CTO Beth Noveck indicates that the process will not be “government-wide” as previously stated and, coincidently, your votes don’t matter either:

We took the voting into account when assessing your enthusiasm for a submission, but only somewhat in evaluating relevance…There were plenty of great ideas that we read but that unfortunately did not make sense to bring into the next phase, including those … outside the purview of the Executive branch.

So to the nearly 1,200 supporters of Leader Boehner’s submission, the thousands of supporters of the Read the Bill initiative, American taxpayers seeking more accountability in government spending, and yes, even the President, who has been a vocal supporter of the concept in the past, Administration officials have a message for you: It doesn’t “make sense” to discuss your ideas any further.  On the brainstorming site, commenter “sobi” offers his/her appraisal of the situation:

It is diversionary. Health care is also in the hands of the legislature, the administration has no problem involving itself there.

So was the bailout. Administration made demand after demand on legislature.

When it is a policy the administration wants, it is called leadership.

When it is a policy the administration does not want to touch it is called legislative territory.

We will continue to follow the process and look for more opportunities to engage the White House in a genuinely open discussion on these critical issues.  For that discussion to be truly open, it’s time for the White House to acknowledge submissions that make sense to all Americans, even those that are inconvenient or happen to highlight their own broken promises.

Please take a moment to give us your feedback on Leader Boehner’s submission or any others, in the comments below.

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Boehner Conducts “Stress Test” on Federal Government – and (Surprise!) the Government Flunks

We’ve heard a lot from the Obama Administration lately about “stress tests” for banks.  What would happen if we gave the federal government a “stress test” of its own?  And what is the likely impact of the binge of new spending, taxing and borrowing upon which Washington has embarked since January 2009? 

This morning, after consulting with the Republican staff of the Joint Economic Committee, House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) announced the results of his own mock “stress test” on the federal government.  As Boehner explained:

Last week, the Administration released the results of a ‘stress test’ for our nation’s financial institutions.  After the Medicare and Social Security trustees released their ominous report earlier this week and Vice President Biden attempted to spin the Democrats’ massive ‘stimulus’ bill yesterday, I wondered:  How would the federal government fare if we applied a stress test to it?

Could the federal government pass a “stress test” if we gave it one?  And does anyone really think the budget recently passed by Congress, which features sharp increases in spending, taxing, and borrowing, will result in less “stress?”  Consider these facts, discussed by Leader Boehner this morning:

• Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was down 6.1 percent last quarter.
• Unemployment has reached 8.9 percent, with about 2.5 million jobs lost this year alone.
• Last month, when the government usually runs a huge surplus because of Tax Day, Washington ran a $21 billion deficit.
• The national debt has reached unthinkable levels. We’ve racked up more debt this year than the past 200-plus combined.
• The federal budget deficit will be nearly $2 trillion this year, piling even more debt onto our kids and grandkids.
• Medicare and Social Security are on the brink of bankruptcy.  When will Washington get serious about entitlement reform?

In Boehner’s words:

Instead of heeding these warning signs, Washington keeps making decisions that put us in further jeopardy.  By spending too much, taxing too much, and borrowing too much, they ensure future generations will inherit an even more severe crisis.  Instead of working together to put Americans back to work and rebuild their savings, Washington Democrats keep digging the hole deeper.

U.S. House Budget Committee Republicans, led by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), did a similar and more comprehensive “stress test” analysis of the federal government back in March; it can be seen here.  Leader Boehner also credited the Illinois Policy Institute, a state-based think tank, with advancing the idea of conducting a “stress test” on the federal government’s books.  The Institute’s own “stress test” analysis, released recently, can be seen here. 

Leader Boehner and House Republicans have proposed a better solution: a budget alternative developed by Rep. Ryan that reigns in government spending by freezing non-defense and non-veterans benefits for five years, offers real tax relief to American families and small businesses, and reforms Medicare and Medicaid to make them sustainable.

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Tax Hikes Will Kill Recovery, Harvard Economist Says

Democrats have been in control of the Presidency and Congress for only five months - and so far they’re having trouble restraining themselves from taxing nearly everything Americans do.  The President’s $3.6 trillion budget raises taxes on every single American and will “kill any chance of an early and sustained recovery,” according to Martin Feldstein, former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and current Harvard professor.

In a column in today’s Wall Street Journal he notes that:

Even if the proposed tax increases are not scheduled to take effect until 2011, households will recognize the permanent reduction in their future incomes and will reduce current spending accordingly.  Higher future tax rates on capital gains and dividends will depress share prices immediately and the resulting fall in wealth will cut consumer spending further.  Lower share prices will also raise the cost of equity capital, depressing business investment in plant and equipment.

Feldstein also notes that the President’s proposed national energy tax will hit the least fortunate Americans the hardest: “According to the CBO, households in the lowest-income quintile spend more than 20 percent of their income on energy intensive items (primarily fuels and electricity), while those in the highest-income quintile spend less than 5 percent on those products.”

The President’s budget is riddled with tax increases that will punish the American people and slow economic growth and job creation, plain and simple.

If you drive a car or flip on a light switch - Democrats have a new national energy tax for you.  If you’re a small business owner or if you’re employed by one - Democrats have a new tax for you.  If you’re a charity - Democrats have a new tax for your donors.  If you’re looking to produce more American energy - Democrats have a new tax for you.  If you own stock - Democrats have a new tax for you.  And when you’re finally able to relax - after paying all your taxes to Uncle Sam - and you want to kick back, relax, and have a cold beer, you guessed it, Democrats may have a new tax for you too.

And yet - all of the taxing, spending, and borrowing the Democrats in Washington are proposing still won’t fix our economy, create jobs, or even address the staggering deficit that will hit nearly $2 trillion this year and will consume nearly 13 percent of the overall economy.

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) has repeatedly said that the President’s budget “spends too much, taxes too much, and borrows too much from our kids and grandkids.”  House Republicans are committed to restoring fiscal sanity in Washington, and have introduced a budget alternative that doesn’t raise taxes and keeps spending under control by instituting a spending freeze for five years, exempting defense and veterans’ benefits.

Ronald Reagan once quipped that: “Our friends in the other party have never met a tax they didn’t like - or hike.”

Funny how some things never change.

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President Obama’s Half-Hearted Budget Cuts Dwarfed by Exploding Debt

Today President Obama announced $17 billion worth of program cuts in his massive $3.55 trillion budget blueprint, declaring that “we can no longer afford to spend as if deficits don’t matter and waste is not our problem.”  The President is right - the trouble is, his budget will rack up a deficit of nearly $2 trillion this year alone.   In fact, the President’s budget calls for $1 trillion in budget deficits as far as the eye can see, doubling the national debt in five years and tripling it in ten.

While these cuts are welcome, they’re a drop in the bucket by comparison to the amount of new debt being placed on future generations under the Administration’s budget.  The Washington Post noted in a story today:

If approved by Congress, those trims would amount to only about one-half of 1 percent of the $3.4 trillion federal budget.  But the proposed reductions are expected to be equally controversial on Capitol Hill, with some lawmakers battling for programs they favor and others demanded deeper cuts.

The Post also noted that: “About half of the trims would come from curbing defense programs.”  Other news reports commented on the budget cuts.  The Wall Street Journal wrote that that: “the Obama budget for 2010 shows little real sign of belt-tightening” and the Associated Press said that: “Those savings are far exceeded by a 2 1/2-inch thick volume detailing Obama’s generous increases for domestic programs.”

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) said today that: “The Administration’s proposed cuts, while welcome, don’t go far enough, and they appear to be a diversionary tactic - an effort to change the subject away from the unprecedented debt this budget heaps on future generations. ”

To put the $17 billion in budget cuts into perspective, the Senate Republican Policy Committee compiled these facts:

• $17 billion is less than ½ of 1% of the entire $3.55 trillion FY 2010 budget.
• CBO estimates that interest costs will be over $172 billion for FY 2010, or 10 times what the Administration is proposing to save.
• $17 billion is about 2% of the $787 billion “stimulus” bill passed on February.
• $17 billion is less than 5% of the interest expense created by the “stimulus” bill.
• CBO has projected that legislation signed by President Obama has added $422 billion to FY 2010 deficit, about 25 times the FY2010 savings proposed in this budget.
• The federal government has already provided up to $173.4 billion in financial assistance to AIG, or 10 times what the Administration is proposing to cut from the budget.
• The federal government has already provided almost $36 billion in TARP aid to the auto industry, or twice what he Administration is proposing to cut from the budget.
• Since President Obama has taken office, total US debt has increased by over $600 billion. $17 billion is less than 3% of new debt created during this Administration’s first 105 days.
• Agencies reported improper payment estimates of $72 billion for fiscal year 2008 for a select group of programs. This represents about 4 percent of the $1.8 trillion of reported outlays for the related programs.

Yesterday, in an interview on Fox News, Leader Boehner stated that House Republicans will deliver proposed budget cuts to the President in the coming weeks.  Any budget cuts are a welcome start, but Washington has a long way to go to tighten its belt to reduce the nearly $2 trillion budget deficit that’s projected for this year.

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Better Solutions: Reforming the Tax Code

Some in Washington are advocating higher taxes during these difficult economic times.  They’re calling for a new national energy tax that will affect every American household; higher taxes on small businesses and families; and higher taxes on investors.  Some are even calling for the middle class tax rebate Congress passed to be repealed as early as next year.

House Republicans disagree, and are standing for lower taxes and a smaller and more accountable government that doesn’t burden future generations with unsustainable amounts of debt. 

House Republicans believe we have a better solution.

We start with a basic premise: a world-class tax system should be simple, fair, and efficient.  That’s why the House Republican budget, drafted by House Budget Committee Ranking Member Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), reforms the tax code, reins in government spending, and controls the deficit.  The House GOP budget also includes an optional flat tax:

Individuals can choose to pay their Federal taxes under the existing tax code, with all the familiar deductions and schedules, or they could move to a highly simplified income tax system.  The simplified plan broadens the tax base by clearing out nearly all the existing tax deductions and credits, compresses the tax schedule down to two low rates and retains a generous standard deduction and exemption level.  The tax form for this system could fit on a postcard. 

The goal is a more simple, fair and efficient tax code…the simplified tax has just two rates: 10 percent on adjusted gross income [AGI] up to $100,000 for joint filers, and $50,000 for single filers; and 25 percent on taxable income above these amounts.

In addition, the House Republican budget alternative:

• Includes no tax increases
• Freezes nondefense (excluding veterans) spending in FY 2010-14
• Extends the AMT ‘Patch’
• Maintains incentives for savings and investment
• Lowers the corporate income tax from 35 percent to 25 percent
• Suspends capital gains taxes through 2010
• Allows individuals to choose how they will pay their federal income taxes

The Republican plan spends less, taxes less, and borrows less.  In fact, it spends $4.8 trillion less than the President’s budget over ten years; deficits are $3.3 trillion lower than the President’s over ten years; and, deficits fall below 3.0 percent of GDP under the House Republican budget.

House Republicans are committed to providing better solutions to the challenges that face hardworking Americans.  House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH), along with other House Republicans, have produced better solutions on savings, health care, housing, energy, economic recovery, and rural issues.  Additionally, Leader Boehner has launched solutions website that will continue to highlight House Republicans’ better solutions for a stronger America.

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Boehner: “The Most Expensive Credit Card in History” is the Congressional Voting Card

This morning, in a speech on the floor of the House of Representatives, House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) slammed the Democrats’ budget that “spends too much, taxes too much, and borrows too much from our kids and grandkids” and called the congressional voting card “the most expensive credit card in the history of the world,” holding up his voting card to illustrate his point:

Right here is the most expensive credit card in the history of the world.  It’s a voting card for a member of Congress, and this voting card should be used responsibly on behalf of the American people.  So far this year a majority in this House have used this credit card irresponsibly: an $800 billion stimulus bill that was supposed to be about jobs, jobs and jobs, and turned into nothing more than an $800 billion bill about spending, spending and more spending and growing the size of government.  Then we had an omnibus appropriation bill, $30 billion over budget, 9,000 earmarks. How responsible was that to pass?  And now we have an opportunity with this budget, a budget that spends too much, taxes too much and puts too much debt on the backs of our kids and grandkids.

In a twist of sad irony, Congressional Democrats plan to bring legislation to the floor this week aimed at curbing credit card abuses.  But the legislation won’t do a thing to halt the most destructive credit card abuse taking place in America today - Washington Democrats’ use of the congressional voting card to pile unprecedented debt on future generations of Americans. 

House Republicans offered a better budget solution that focuses on curbing spending, creating jobs, and controlling the nation’s debt, but House Democrats instead chose to pass the most fiscally-irresponsible budget in American history.  The full floor statement is available here.

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Small Businesses Are in For a World of Hurt Under Obama Budget

Today’s Washington Post has a front page story: “Small Businesses Brace for Tax Battle,” that catalogues the burden small businesses will face under the President’s massive $4 trillion budget which raises taxes by more than $1.4 trillion.  House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) has repeatedly warned that the President’s budget “spends too much, taxes too much, and borrows too much from our kids and grandkids.”

Gail Johnson, the subject of the Post’s story, is a former pediatric nurse who’s spent “20 years building a chain of preschools and after-school programs that accommodate sick children so working parents can keep their jobs,” but since, “like most small-business owners, Johnson reports her profit on her personal tax return,” she’ll see her taxes go up under the President’s plan - big time.

The Washington Post notes that:

If Obama’s tax plans are enacted, her accountant estimates that her federal tax bill — typically, around $120,000 a year — would rise by at least $23,000, a 19 percent increase.

“You hear ‘tax the rich,’ and you think, ‘I don’t make that much money,’” said Johnson, whose Rainbow Station programs are headquartered near Richmond.  “But then you realize: ‘Oh, if I put my business income with my wages, then, suddenly, I’m there.’”

Small businesses create as much as 80 percent of all jobs in the United States.  Punishing small businesses will only add to the heavy burden they’re already facing in this difficult economy, as the Post article makes clear:

In a typical year, Johnson’s federal tax bill would be about $120,000.  But starting in 2011, the higher marginal rates would add about $13,000 a year, Hurst said.  Capping the value of itemized deductions at 28 percent would add another $10,000, for a total increase of $23,000.

And Johnson’s tax bill stands to grow dramatically if Obama were to revive a plan to apply Social Security tax to income over $250,000 instead of capping it at the current $106,800.  Because Johnson is an employee and an employer, she would have to pay both portions of the tax, Hurst said, tacking another $30,000 onto her bill.

Johnson said such an increase would force her to consider scaling back operations.

The President’s budget is a recipe for disaster.  Instead of encouraging economic growth that will create jobs here at home, the President and his Democratic allies in Congress are proposing a massive expansion of government that will result in higher taxes for every American and unsustainable deficits that will leave our nation so far in the red that our debt will consume more than 80 percent of GDP by 2019 under the President’s own overly optimistic projections.

House Republicans have a better budget solution.  Introduced by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), the Republican Budget Alternative does not raise taxes on a single American; asks the federal government to live within its means by freezing non-defense discretionary spending for the next five years; offers an optional flat tax; and suspends capital gains taxes through 2010.  In fact, the Investor’s Business Daily said that the House Republican budget “makes 100 times more sense” than the President’s reckless budget.

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House Republicans Announce “State Solutions” Project to Highlight Common Sense Solutions Outside the Beltway

House Republican Reps. John Boehner (R-OH), Devin Nunes (R-CA) and Mike Rogers (R-MI) today announced a new online initiative known as the GOP State Solutions project.  The initiative, located on the web at http://states.gopleader.gov,  is intended to highlight reforms being implemented by governors and state and local officials outside the Beltway, and to help shine the light of public scrutiny on federal waste and red tape that hinders states, communities, and families.

“In a time of great challenge for the American people, real solutions start in states and communities across America, not with bureaucrats in Washington, D.C.,” said House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH).  “Through the State Solutions project, reform-minded Republicans in Congress and in state capitols across America will be working together to present better solutions to the challenges facing families and small businesses.”

Leader Boehner has asked Rep. Rogers to serve as the State Solutions project’s liaison to the nation’s governors, while Rep. Nunes will focus on outreach to state legislators.

The State Solutions webpage includes an Issues section broken into six categories in which reform-minded Republicans in Congress and in state capitols across the nation are offering better solutions than those being advanced in Democratic-controlled Washington, including areas such as job creation, education reform, and American energy reform.  The website features links to statements by leading GOP governors such as Gov. Haley Barbour (MS), Bobby Jindal (LA) and Mark Sanford (SC) discussing the impact of Washington Democrats’ policies on their states, and also highlights proposals put forth by outside-the-Beltway leaders such as Nebraska State Treasurer Shane Osborn, who launched a pioneering state spending transparency website, and the nonpartisan American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which is advocating a 72-hour review rule for congressional spending bills and recently released an analysis of the state impact of the new national energy tax proposed by Washington Democrats.

Visit http://states.gopleader.gov for more information on the State Solutions Initiative.

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Investor’s Business Daily Calls GOP Budget “100 Times Better” Than Democratic Budget

Last night, the House of Representatives passed a $3.5 trillion budget that, as House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) has repeatedly pointed out: “spends too much, taxes too much, and borrows too much from our kids and grandkids.”  Not one Republican voted for the Democrats’ budget; they were joined by twenty Democrats in opposing the Democrats’ reckless plan.

Instead, House Republicans offered a “better solution” in the form of a budget alternative presented by House Budget Committee Ranking Republican Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI).  The Republican budget spends less (calling for a non defense discretionary spending freeze for the next five years), taxes less (stops the massive tax hike set in motion by the Democratic-controlled 110th Congress, kills the death tax and the AMT, and offers tax relief to small businesses and investors), and borrows a lot less (borrowing $3.6 trillion less than the Obama budget over 10 years).

The Investor’s Business Daily ran an editorial today, “A Budget Plan Good Enough To Read,” touting the responsible and fiscally conservative House Republican Budget.  The editorial said that:

The congressional Republicans’ recovery plan makes 100 times more sense than the tax-and-spend excess the White House and Congress will steamroll into law. But those in power won’t give it a glance…

Congressional Republicans have countered all this irresponsibility and deceptiveness with their own detailed budget. For the sake of our children’s future, Americans should become familiar with it, and insist their president and representatives at least consider it.

House Republicans couldn’t agree more - and throughout the coming year, House Republicans will continue to offer better solutions to the challenges that face the American people.

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The Republican Budget Alternative: Real Tax Relief for American Families & Small Businesses

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) has said repeatedly that the Democrats’ budget “spends too much, taxes too much, and borrows too much from our kids and grandkids.”  Today, House Republicans unveiled their budget alternative - one that demands the federal government live within its means, delivers real tax relief to working families and small businesses, and doesn’t ask our kids and grandkids to pay for today’s spending.

How is the Republican budget different from the Democrats’ budget on the issue of taxes? The House Republican budget:

• Does not raise taxes
• Permanently extends the tax relief provisions enacted in 2001 and 2003
• Extends the current AMT “patch”
• Lowers the corporate income tax from 35 percent to 25 percent
• Suspends capital gains taxes through 2010
• Allows individuals to choose how they will pay their federal income taxes
• Simplifies income tax rates

The Democrats’ budget increases the size of the federal government by nine percent on top of the enormous “stimulus” and omnibus spending bills package; institutes a $646 billion national energy tax through a “cap and trade” system that would cost each American household up to $3,100; imposes higher taxes on investors by raising the capital gains and dividend taxes; doubles the national debt in five years and triples it in 10; proposes a “down payment” on bureaucrat-controlled health care without a plan to pay for it; and doesn’t address runaway entitlement spending or propose any meaningful tax reforms.  And the middle-class tax cut promised by President Obama on the campaign trail appears to be dead in the water.

Unlike the Democrats’ irresponsible budget, the House Republican “better solution” budget presented by House Budget Committee Ranking Republican Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) provides real tax relief to Americans and allows individuals to choose how they will pay their federal income taxes and simplifies income tax rates:

In contrast to the six tax rates in the current code, the simplified tax has just two rates: 10 percent on adjusted gross income [AGI] up to $100,000 for joint filers, and $50,000 for single filers; and 25 percent on taxable income above these amounts.  These tax brackets are adjusted each year by a cost-of-living adjustment as measured by increases in the consumer price index [CPI]. This design maintains a large level of progressivity in the tax rate structure, as the top rate in two-and-a-half times higher than the lower rate.

House Republicans are committed to providing better solutions to the “tax, spend, borrow, and repeat” Democratic mentality that currently rules in Washington, D.C.  To see the House Republican budget in full, click HERE.  Stay tuned to GOP Leader Blog for more details about the House Republican budget.

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