John Boehner 8TH DISCTRICT OF OHIO

Where do you stand: do you want higher taxes for families and small businesses -- or more jobs and a stronger economy? Here’s a chart that compares the Democratic and Republican tax plans – and below is a look at what others are saying about both:

House Republicans are the only ones to pass a bipartisan plan that stops all of President Obama’s tax hikes on middle class families and small businesses, and to replace the devastating defense cuts that threaten our national security. Senate Democrats haven’t taken action (or passed a budget in more than three years) and President Obama is blaming everyone but himself for his failed economic policies. Here’s what others are saying:

• SMALL BUSINESSES: After president told small business owners “you didn’t build that,” many “are too afraid to spend or hire” under the looming threat of a tax hike.  One says there “could not be a worse time” for higher taxes.
  

• ECONOMISTS: A former Congressional Budget Office director says raising taxes would be “madness.” Other economists say the president’s tax hikes are “misguided in the extreme” – and all of them must be stopped.
  

• INDEPENDENT EXPERTS: After 42 months with unemployment above eight percent, a nonpartisan study by Ernst & Young found the president’s small business tax hike would destroy more than 700,000 American jobs.
  

• MANUFACTURERS: The National Association of Manufacturers says the president’s tax hikes are a “fundamentally bad move” that will hurt investment and job creation.
  

• AMERICAN PEOPLE: A McClatchy-Marist survey found a majority of Americans (52 percent) “prefer the Republican proposal to” to stop all of the president’s tax hikes – they don’t want taxes raised on anyone.
  

• MANY DEMOCRATS: More Democrats – including former President Clinton – are coming out against President Obama’s tax hikes. Even President Obama himself once said stopping the tax hikes was necessary to help our economy.
  

• OBAMA ADMINISTRATION: Top officials say the ‘sequester’ cuts threaten our national security. The House voted to replace those cuts with common-sense savings and reforms.We’re still waiting for the president’s plan.
  

• REPUBLICANS: Republican leaders said they are ready to reconvene the House at any point if Senate Democrats also vote to stop all of the tax hikes that threaten our economy and replace the defense cuts that threaten our security -- or act on the more than 30 other House-passed jobs bills.
  

• WHERE DO YOU STAND? Click here to answer our Facebook Question and let us know what you think, or leave your message in the comments below.

Kayla Harrison, a native of Middletown, Ohio, secured her spot in Olympic history today, becoming the first American to ever win a gold medal in judo.  Despite his busy schedule in the U.S. Capitol this morning, Congressman Boehner tuned in from his office for a few moments to watch her impressive victory, and then wished her congratulations shortly thereafter at his weekly press conference:

“And finally, let me just say congratulations to Kayla Harrison, a native of Middletown, Ohio, who just won a gold medal in the female judo competition.  She’s the first American woman to ever win a gold medal in judo, and she did her country, our community, proud today.  Congratulations.”

Read more about Kayla’s big win here at the Dayton Daily News.

In an interview with FOX News’ Greta Van Susteren, Congressman John Boehner said the House will vote next week to stop President Obama’s tax hike on small businesses, which Ernst & Young says would destroy more than 700,000 jobs. Boehner said, “We have a serious problem with our economy,” but Senate Democrats are blocking more than 30 House-passed jobs bills, and President Obama is too busy campaigning to meet with his jobs council. Watch the interview here and find several excerpts below:

Boehner: House Will Stop the Small Business Tax Hike That Threatens 700,000 Jobs:

“The House next week will vote to stop the looming tax hikes scheduled to take effect on January the 1st.  The president’s plan would cost about 700,000 new jobs that wouldn’t be created or could be lost by taxing small businesses. The House will not do that.  The House will extend all of the existing tax rates. We’re at eight percent unemployment.  We’ve got 41 months of it.  This is not the time to be raising taxes on American small business.”

Boehner: President Obama is Too Busy Campaigning to Meet with His Jobs Council:

“The American people don’t need to be paying higher taxes at a time when our economy is not doing well. You know, the president is out there running around, campaigning, avoiding sitting down with his own jobs council.  He hasn’t met with them for over six months.  And if you look at the report that the president’s jobs council put out, guess what?  It supports many of the ideas that we’ve passed in House and sent over to the Senate.”

Boehner: Senate Democrats are Blocking More than 30 House-Passed Jobs Bills:

“We’ve got 30 bills sitting over in the United States Senate that would help our -- get our economy moving again and get the American people back to work.”

Boehner: November will be a Referendum on President Obama’s Failed Economic Policies:

“You know, the real unemployment rate is almost 15 percent. And then if you look at black unemployment, Hispanic unemployment, you’re into the high teens and low 20s.  And then look at the college graduates, recent college graduates, where you’ve got 50 percent of those graduates either unemployed or underemployed. We have a serious problem with our economy.  And the president won’t even meet with his own jobs council.  His policies have failed.  They’ve actually made things worse.  And this election is coming up in November is going to be a referendum on the president’s economic policies.”

In a special message posted today, Congressman Boehner sent his well wishes to three athletes with ties to southwest Ohio who will be representing the United States in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London: Keli Smith Puzo, a member of the American field hockey team; Holley Mangold, who will be competing in weightlifting; and Kayla Harrison, who will be representing our country in judo.  

Learn more about all of Team USA’s athletes headed to London by visiting TeamUSA.org, and make sure to watch these three incredible competitors in their quest for a gold medal.

Go Team USA!

“Hi, I’m John Boehner.

“Right now, athletes from more than 200 countries are making their final preparations for the Summer Olympics.

“As you may know, three of the U.S. Olympic athletes headed for London hail from our area: 

“Keli Smith Puzo, from Oxford, is returning to the Olympics this year as a forward for the women’s field hockey team. 

“Holley Mangold is a Miami Valley native competing in weightlifting.

“And Kayla Harrison, who was raised in Middletown, will be competing in Judo and is a serious contender for a gold medal. 

“So please join me in wishing ‘good luck’ to these three incredible competitors.  

“We’ll be cheering for you!”

Congressman Boehner joined Brian Thomas this morning on Cincinnati’s 55 KRC-AM to discuss House Republicans’ continued focus on jobs and the economy.  In addition to highlighting this week’s legislation to stop excessive regulations, Boehner discussed the House-passed Sequester Replacement Reconciliation Act (H.R. 5652) that stops the automatic sequester cuts that will hollow-out our defenses as well as the vote next week to stop President Obama’s massive tax hike on small businesses. 

As Congressman Boehner noted, House Republicans are the only ones in Washington who’ve “offered a plan to stop the tax hike that threatens our economy and to stop the sequester and defense cuts that threaten our national security.”

Click here to listen to the full interview.


BOEHNER ON REPUBLICANS STAYING FOCUSED ON THE ECONOMY

“We’re going to continue to do our job.  The president can go out and campaign every day and the Senate can do whatever they do…but the House is going to continue to be focused on what the American people want us to be focused on: the economy and jobs.”

BOEHNER ON HOUSE LEGISLATION THAT PROTECTS SMALL BUSINESSES AND HELPS CREATE JOBS

“The House is focused on jobs and this week we’ll pass legislation to stop excessive regulations that hurts small businesses…There was a recent survey taken and 78 percent of small business people said that excessive regulations and taxes make it harder for them to hire new people.  The bills we’re bringing to the floor this week will cut through the red tape and freeze new regulations until unemployment is below 6 percent.  Then, next week the House will vote to stop the tax hike that threatens about 700,000 jobs according to Ernst & Young.  We’re the only group in town that’s offered a plan to stop the tax hike that threatens our economy and to stop the sequester and defense cuts that threaten our national security.”

BOEHNER ON STOPPING THE DEVASTATING SEQUESTER CUTS

“We don’t have to wait till the end of the year and keep the economy on hold while people are guessing what we might do with taxes.  Secondly, we don’t have to wait until the end of the year to deal with this looming sequester that is going to whack our military and hurt our ability to defend our country…The reason we have the sequester going into effect on January 2^nd is because the President of the United States only wanted to deal with the debt limit once before his election….So there are 1.2 trillion worth of cuts that are going into effect on January 2^nd over the next 10 years.  Half of this comes from defense and the other half comes from what I’ll call non-defense sources.  You are going to see cuts in education, Medicare, all because the President didn’t want to be inconvenienced with another fight over the debt limit.”

BOEHNER ON DEALING WITH THE “BIG ISSUES FACING OUR COUNTRY”

“Early next year, we are going to be faced again with a need to increase the debt limit.  I’ve made clear that we are not going to increase the debt limit unless there are cuts and reforms that are greater than the increase to the debt limit.  It is time for us to quit kicking the can down the road.  It’s time for us to deal with the big issues facing our country.  The house is going to continue to stay focused on it. 

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“If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that,” said President Obama at a campaign rally this weekend. “Somebody else made that happen.” Well, today the president is in Cincinnati, Ohio – and Congressman John Boehner, a former small business owner from Cincinnati, is responding. In a weekly column being released in Boehner’s Congressional district, the Congressman says the president made this remarkable claim because “he has no idea what it takes to build or run a small business … and it shows”:

“At a recent campaign rally, President Obama said, ‘If you’ve got a business -- you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.’ He said that because he has no idea what it takes to build or run a small business. He doesn’t understand the risks entrepreneurs take, or the difficulty of meeting a payroll and hiring new workers when the government is standing in the way. And it shows.

“Under President Obama, our national unemployment rate has been above eight percent for more than three years. Prices are higher for everything from gasoline to groceries to health care. The president even gutted the common-sense work requirements at the core of President Clinton’s historic, bipartisan welfare reforms – a clear admission that his economic policies have failed.”

Boehner pointed out that he’s run a small business and knows “the headaches and obstacles facing job creators.” And he’s reminded every day by job creators that “Washington isn’t helping.”

“That’s why the House of Representatives is going to continue focusing on stopping government policies that are hurting small businesses,” says Boehner. This month alone, the House…

• …will vote to curtail excessive government regulations that raise the cost of doing business and threaten jobs.

• …will vote to stop all of the tax hikes scheduled to hit families and small businesses on January 1, 2013, and will lay the groundwork for a fairer, simpler tax code that helps keep jobs here in America – and may bring jobs that have gone overseas “back home.”

• … already voted to fully repeal the president’s health care law, which is driving up costs andmaking it harder for small businesses to hire new workers.

• … continues to wait for Senate Democrats to vote on more than 30 House-passed jobs bills that would expand energy production, stop the Washington spending binge, and more.

The House will also vote this week to require the administration to outline its plan for implementing defense cuts that Obama officials say will “hollow out” our armed forces. Republicans already passed a plan to replace these cuts with common-sense spending cuts and reforms that protect our troops and their families, but neither the president nor Senate Democrats have offered a plan of their own.

With President Obama and Senate Democrats at odds with small business job creators (and the president’s own jobs council), Congressman Boehner says the House won’t “stop doing what’s right and passing legislation that removes the barriers holding back economic growth and job creation…” See more at jobs.GOP.gov.

As Congressman Boehner recently described it, “President Obama is asleep at the switch when it comes to our economy and jobs.”  From his job-crushing health care law to his recent call for tax hikes on small businesses, the president continues to double down on failed economic policies that have hurt job creation in Ohio and across the country.

In the following message to Eighth District constituents, Congressman Boehner discusses the latest action by House Republicans to get government out of the way of job creators so they can do what they do best – grow their businesses and create jobs.

With millions of Americans out of work and wages stagnant, Congressman John Boehner told CBS News Face the Nation the president’s health care law is driving up costs and making it harder for small businesses to hire. Boehner said ObamaCare must be “ripped out at its roots” so we can start over with “a common sense, step-by-step approach that will lower health care costs.” Watch him here:

Boehner: President’s Health Care Takeover & Tax Must Be Ripped Out By Its Roots

“This has to be ripped out by its roots. This is government taking over the entire health insurance industry. The American people do not want to go down this path. They do not want the government telling them what kind of insurance policy they have to buy, and how much they have to pay for it, and if you don’t like it we’re going to tax you. It has to be ripped out and we need to start over. One step at a time.”

Boehner: Supreme Court’s Ruling Has Strengthened Our Resolve to Repeal ObamaCare

“All it really does is strengthen my resolve and resolve of Republicans here in Washington to repeal this awful law, which is increasing the cost of health insurance for the American people and making it harder for small businesses to hire new workers.”

Boehner: Common-Sense Steps Will Help Lower Costs for Families, Small Businesses

“We’ve outlined a number of provisions last year allowing employers, or the American people to buy insurance across state lines. Why wouldn’t we allow small businesses to group together for the purchases of buying health insurance? Why wouldn’t we deal with one of the big cost drivers in health care, and that is medical malpractice reform? That results in almost one out of four tests being ordered by a doctor as unnecessary only to protect themselves from being sued. These are the kinds of common sense steps that we can take.”

Boehner: Washington’s Spending Binge Threatens Families, Economic Growth

“We clearly have a problem. This president’s driven the debt up $5 trillion in less than four years. We’ve got a 16 trillion dollar national debt now. We have a 1.3 trillion dollar budget deficit this year. You can’t continue to spend money that you don’t have. And I do believe that it’s time to deal with this. I tried everything I could last year to work with the president to try to come to some agreement to begin the process of getting our debt under control.  … We’ve got to make changes to all of our programs because if we don’t, they will not exist.”  

Boehner: Terry Family Has a Right to Know What Happened in Fast & Furious

“The American people have a right to know what happened here. Brian Terry’s family has a right to know what happened here. And the fact is that the only facts that we’ve received about this entire Fast and Furious operation came from whistleblowers and others associated with it. We got no information that helped in our investigation from the Justice Department at any point in this investigation. The American people deserve the truth.”

In a radio interview today with Brian Thomas on Cincinnati’s 55 KRC-AM, Congressman Boehner addressed House Republicans’ commitment to repeal ObamaCare in its entirety and the upcoming Supreme Court decision on the constitutionality of the president’s health care law.  House Republicans are relentlessly focused on job creation and, as Boehner put it during the interview, “the president’s health care law is driving up health care costs and its making it harder for small businesses to hire new workers.”  In addition, Congressman Boehner addressed President Obama’s failure to lead on immigration and the Supreme Court’s decision on Arizona’s law. 

Listen to the interview here: 

BOEHNER ON PRESIDENT OBAMA’S FAILED ECONOMIC POLICIES

“It’s all about the president trying to find a way to win an election.  His economic policies have failed and as a result he cannot run on his record.  He is going to try to make the election about everything other than his failed economic policies…all about energizing certain segments of America in hopes of finding a way for him to win…This election will be about the economy.”

BOEHNER ON HOUSE REPUBLICANS’ COMMITMENT TO FULLY REPEAL OBAMACARE

“We all know that the president’s health care law is driving up health care costs and its making it harder for small businesses to hire new workers.  And I’ll say this: unless the Supreme Court throws out the entire law, the House will vote to repeal whatever is left of ObamaCare.  Then we need to enact commonsense reforms in a step-by-step process that protects jobs and protects the American people’s access to the care they need from the doctor they choose at a lower cost.” 

BOEHNER ON PRESIDENT OBAMA’S FAILURE TO LEAD ON IMMIGRATION

“…if the federal government isn’t going to do its job there is no reason why the people of Arizona can’t do theirs...The president talked about it during the campaign, he’s talked about it half a dozen times since, and has offered nothing – nothing to the Congress and has provided no leadership to get this done.”