HOUSE Republican Leader John Boehner

Cantor Launches “Smarter, Simpler” Economic Recovery Website

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) is urging Americans to visit a new website unveiled today by Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) outlining the House Republican Economic Recovery Plan, which would create twice the jobs - 6.2 MILLION total - at half the cost of the trillion dollar spending bill that House Democrats passed on Wednesday.  The House GOP plan, which was crafted by Rep. Cantor’s Economic Recovery Working Group, allows families, small businesses, job-seekers, and home-buyers to keep more of what they earn to create jobs and strengthen our economy.

The House Republican Economic Recovery plan has five simple proposals:

1. Immediate Tax Relief for Working Families
2. Help for America’s Small Businesses
3. No Tax Increases to Pay for Spending
4. Assistance for the Unemployed
5. Stabilizing Home Values

“We hope that Americans from coast to coast visit our website, read our plan and contribute ideas,” said Mr. Cantor.   “We can get our economy moving again if we focus on helping working families and small businesses get back in the game.  Republicans will continue to speak directly to the American people and ask for their best ideas.  America deserves no less.”

View the House GOP Jobs Plan on Rep. Cantor’s new site here.

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Leader Links: January 30, 2009

‘STIMULUS’ BILL:

GOP has a better plan.  Wednesday’s vote against the congressional Democrats’ trillion dollar spending bill was a bipartisan rejection of a partisan plan.  All House Republicans were joined by 11 Democrats against the legislation - and for good reason: It did not meet President Obama’s standard.  Republican Leader John A. Boehner (R-OH)

A Warning to the President.  Barack Obama promised to end the “politics of division,” unite Washington’s factions and overcome partisanship.  And what do you know — so far he has: The President’s stimulus plan generated bipartisan House opposition, with every Republican and 11 Democrats voting against it on Wednesday.

Cleaner and Faster.  In a fateful decision, Democratic leaders merged the temporary stimulus measure with their permanent domestic agenda - including big increases for Pell Grants, alternative energy subsidies and health and entitlement spending.  The resulting package is part temporary and part permanent, part timely and part untimely, part targeted and part untargeted.

Shelve This Stimulus Plan.  Wednesday night’s House tally on the Democratic stimulus package, where not a single Republican voted in favor, was another shot across the bow for this incredibly unmanageable $900 billion behemoth of a program that truly will not stimulate the economy.

GOP promoting own stimulus plan.  “We plan to make the case on a micro level that targeted tax relief and eliminating wasteful spending in any stimulus bill is the right way forward for America,” said Brad Dayspring, a spokesman for House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, Virginia Republican.

IN OTHER NEWS: Read the rest of this entry »

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Republicans Hit the Airwaves, Calling for Bipartisan Stimulus

Over the last several weeks House Republicans have taken their concerns about the cost and impact of the Congressional Democrats’ slow moving $1.1 trillion “stimulus” bill directly to the American people through press conferences, radio interviews, and TV appearances.   (See chart below from Politico)

The House GOP’s message is clearly resonating with voters - support for the Congressional Democrats’ “stimulus” plan is dropping, according to a fresh Rasmussen poll.

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) has repeatedly stated that the House Republicans are committed to being the party of better solutions and not just the party of “no.”  In that spirit, yesterday Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Rep. David Camp (R-MI) offered a Republican substitute on the floor today that would create twice as many jobs at half the cost.  The Camp-Cantor plan would create 6.2 million new American jobs over the next two years.

Republicans stand ready to help President Obama craft a truly bipartisan stimulus package that can make the American people proud.

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Leader Links: January 29, 2009

‘STIMULUS’ BILL:

House Passes Stimulus Package.  The House bill is one of the largest single stimulus packages in history, almost equal to the entire cost of annual federal spending under Congress’s discretion.  A parallel Senate measure, which is expected to come to a vote next week, is now valued at nearly $900 billion.

Boehner lost vote, won power.  As he heads into the House Republicans’ annual retreat this weekend in Hot Springs, Va., the Ohio Republican can use the stimulus as a unifying rallying cry for his decimated troops.

The Entitlement Stimulus.  The more we dig into the pile of spending and tax favors known as the “stimulus bill,” the more amazing discoveries we make. Namely, Democrats have apparently decided that the way to gun the economy is to spend even more on health care.

GOP says its stimulus would create more jobs.   Citing a new study to back up their claims, House GOP leaders announced their alternative proposal would create as many as 6.2 million jobs, more than 50 percent more than the 3-4 million jobs that Obama says his plan will create or save.

IN OTHER NEWS:

The GOP’s path back.  As House Republicans gather this weekend for our annual retreat, don’t expect to find our conference sulking or looking in the rear view mirror. Bloodied but resolute, our focus is on the present and the future.

Why Liberal Democrats Spend Your Tax Dollars So Merrily.  Overall, given the choice between more government services and higher taxes, or fewer services and lower taxes, likely voters opt for the limited government/low tax option by the comfortable margin of 61% to 25%.

Plan to delay U.S. switch to digital TV thwarted by Republicans.  House Republicans voted down a bill on Wednesday that would have postponed the latest date for the transition to digital broadcasting from analog until June 12. The changeover is set for Feb. 17.

GOP Congressman Introduces ‘Rangel Rule,’ Eliminating IRS Late Fees.  The legislation calls for the creation of what he calls the, “Rangel Rule,” — drawing attention to the recent legal issues of House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., enabling citizens who fail to pay taxes on time to do so later with no additional fees.

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Video: Behind-the-Scenes with GOP Leaders as House Republicans Stand up for American Taxpayers

A new web video released tonight by House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the new House Republican leadership team in action TODAY on behalf of struggling families and taxpayers as House Republicans united in opposition to Capitol Hill Democrats’ billion-dollar spending plan, and offered a better solution for economic recovery that would create twice as many jobs at half the cost.

Check out the video below:

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The American People Deserve Better than House Democrats’ Trillion-Dollar Spending Plan

Today the House voted on the Congressional Democrats’ so-called “stimulus” bill - estimated by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office to cost more than $1.1 trillion when all is said and done.  Despite President Obama’s request to have a bipartisan bill, Congressional Democrats wrote a partisan bill, shutting alternative viewpoints out of the process.  This hurts the American people.

The result was a plan that is too costly, offers too much slow-moving government spending, and too little in fast-acting tax relief.

The Congressional Democrats’ plan is chock-full of dubious spending that has nothing to do with protecting and creating jobs. It includes:

• $650 million: digital TV coupons
• $600 million: new cars for the federal government
• $6 billion: colleges/universities - many which have billion dollar endowments.
• $50 million: National Endowment of the Arts.
• $44 million: Department of Agriculture headquarters.
• $335 million: education on sexually transmitted diseases.

And don’t forget the $4.19 billion pot of money for “neighborhood stabilization activities” such as ACORN - an organization which has been accused of perpetrating voter registration fraud numerous times in the last several elections and is reportedly under federal investigation.

Expenditures of this sort have no place in a bill that is supposed to be focused on immediate job creation for the American people.  We can’t borrow and spend our way back to prosperity, and to pile billions of dollars in additional debt on our children and grandchildren to finance such spending is simply unacceptable.

At the beginning of this Congress, when Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) handed the gavel to Speaker Pelosi, he pledged to the American people that Republicans would be the party of better solutions and not just be the party of “no.”  In that spirit, Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Rep. David Camp (R-MI) offered a Republican substitute on the floor today that would create twice as many jobs at half the cost.  The Camp-Cantor plan will create 6.2 million new American jobs over the next two years, according to a methodology used by President Obama’s own nominee as Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors, Dr. Christina Romer.

The GOP proposal is rooted in the belief that fast-acting tax relief, rather than slow-moving and wasteful government spending, is the most effective way to protect and create jobs and help put our economy back on track.  It provides relief to those who need it most: middle-class families, job seekers, small businesses owners, the self-employed, entrepreneurs, and homebuyers - all with the goal of letting them keep more of what they earn and helping our economy create good-paying, long-lasting jobs.

The American people deserve a better solution.  The House Republicans will continue to work with President Obama to refocus this plan on immediate job creation and tax relief to save and create American jobs and get our economy moving again.

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Leader Links: January 28, 2009

‘STIMULUS’ BILL…

Obama plan hits House floor today President Barack Obama’s economy recovery plan hits the House floor Wednesday after a day of final adjustments by Democrats, adding more tax relief in the Senate and excising a handful of expenditures that have drawn the ire of conservatives.

Stimulus Bill Near $900 Billion The U.S. economic stimulus package neared $900 billion in the Senate, as President Barack Obama wooed Republicans ahead of an expected House vote Wednesday.

Boehner Urges GOP Opposition to Stimulus Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) urged his Conference Tuesday morning to vote against the economic stimulus bill if the measure stays in its current form, according to sources.

Statement of Republican Policy on ‘Stimulus’ Bill Economic stimulus proposals should focus on job creation, small business tax relief and putting money back into the pockets of hard-working Americans. H.R. 1 fails these important tests and should be defeated.

Despite Bumps, Outreach to Continue Republican sources insisted that while GOP Members genuinely appreciated Obama’s gesture in meeting with them in the Capitol, they are unable to back stimulus legislation they consider too expensive, no matter how nice the president is.

Democrats Among Stimulus Skeptics Republican criticism of the stimulus package that the House will vote on tonight has focused on its soaring price tag, but some Democrats on Capitol Hill and other administration supporters are voicing a separate critique: that the plan may fall short in its broader goal of transforming the American economy over the long term.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Congressional Democrats’ So-Called “Stimulus” only Good for Government , Says Cato Scholar

Dan Mitchell of the Cato Institute explains in the video below that the Democrats’ trillion dollar, slow-moving and wasteful government spending “stimulus” plan will not be the panacea to our economic woes.   Mitchell’s comments come on the same day the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office confirmed that the plan offered by House Democrats will cost $1.1 trillion when all is said and done.

“Only in the upside-down world of Washington do people think that making government bigger is a recipe for economic growth” says Mitchell.

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No to Pay Discrimination; No to Frivolous Lawsuits

The House is slated today to vote on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (S. 181), which purports to eliminate “pay discrimination” by ending the 180-day statute of limitations on filing a claim of sex-based wage discrimination.  Instead, it would pay back key political allies of the Democratic Majority by paving the way for endless frivolous lawsuits that have more to do with advancing the trial lawyers’ interests than in ensuring that no one is denied “equal pay for equal work.”

House Republicans are unified in their opposition to workplace discrimination, their support of American civil rights laws which protect against discrimination in the workplace, and their commitment to the timely resolution of discrimination claims.  In a policy statement today, the House Republican Leadership outlined the GOP opposition to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act:

Meaningful statutes of limitations in fact-intensive discrimination cases are crucial to the fair administration of justice.  The prompt assertion of employment discrimination permits employers to defend against claims that arise from employment decisions instead of having to litigate claims that are years or decades old.  Moreover, effective statutes of limitations benefit employees by encouraging the prompt discovery, assertion and resolution of employment discrimination claims so that workplace discrimination can be remedied without delay.

Others have voiced their concern about the provisions of the so-called “Fair Pay Act”:

The Wall Street Journal:

For the tort bar, this is pure gold.  It would create a new legal business in digging up ancient workplace grievances.  This would also be made easier by the bill’s new definition of discrimination. Companies could be sued not merely for outright discrimination but for unintentional acts that result in pay disparities.

Since these supposed wrongs could be compounded over decades, the potential awards would be huge.  Most companies would feel compelled to settle such claims rather than endure the expense and difficulty of defending allegations about long-ago behavior.  The recipe here is file a suit, get a payday.  And the losers would be current and future employees, whose raises would be smaller as companies allocate more earnings to settle claims that might pop up years after litigating employees had departed.

Read the rest of this entry »

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White House Policy Reversal on Auto Standards Will Cost Jobs

On a day the Big Three automakers acknowledged the closure of nearly 1,000 car dealerships last year and that GM will cut 2,000 jobs in Michigan and Ohio, President Obama pushed forward with a plan which will allow California to exceed already strict Federal automobile emissions regulations and will certainly pave the way for other states to follow suit.  The result can only place additional burdens on the struggling American auto industry, which may now be forced to comply with a patchwork of conflicting and costly environmental standards that have less to do with protecting the environment than in securing the accolades of radical environmentalists.

Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) issued a statement:

The President’s action today is disappointing.  The effect of this policy will be to destroy American jobs at the very time government leaders should be working together to protect and create them.  Millions of American jobs will be placed in further jeopardy if automakers are forced to spend billions to comply with potentially dozens of different emissions standards in dozens of different states.

Rather than saving the American automobile industry, as the President claims, his policies will hamper the recovery of the Big Three.  Henry Payne at National Review Online notes that:

Detroit automakers estimate that meeting California’s edict would cost them $30.5 billion alone. With Detroit now on the federal dole, this expense will likely form the basis of further federal subsidies. For even though GM can only return to profitability (and repay its federal loans) by selling high-volume, gas-fueled vehicles like the Chevy Malibu and Chevy Tahoe, it will have to make more money-losing, electric plug-ins like the Chevy Volt (anticipated EPA rating of 100 mpg when it comes to market in 2010) to meet Golden State rules.

President Obama has vowed to govern from the center and put the interests of the country above the interests of narrow special-interest groups.  It’s still early in his presidency, obviously.  And as Leader Boehner has noted, Washington is a difficult town, and it won’t always be easy for the President to do this.  But it’s disappointing that in his first week in office, the President has taken at least two significant actions (the other being his reversal Friday of the Mexico City Policy, forcing taxpayers to pay for overseas abortions) that are out of step with the priorities of most Americans.

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