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Posted by
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September 20, 2012
On September 23, 2010, House Republicans gathered at a family-owned business in northern Virginia and issued a Pledge to America – a governing agenda built by listening to the American people and focused on addressing their top priorities. Two years later, a look back shows that the new Republican majority in the House of Representatives has kept its Pledge – but that the fight continues across several fronts in a Democratic-controlled Washington. While House Republicans haven’t been afraid to take bold steps to address our country’s biggest challenges, President Obama’s failure to lead has become an obstacle to progress. As we’ll show, the president’s Democratic-controlled Senate has blocked jobs bills while millions of Americans are jobless; failed to offer plans to save and strengthen critical entitlement programs while our debt has soared; and focused on gimmicks while trust in Washington remains at record lows. His failure to lead is evident when it comes to stopping all of the coming tax hikes and replacing the defense ‘sequester’ – here again the House has acted while the president and Senate Democrats have not. Below you’ll find each section of the Pledge, the key promises contained within, and actions taken by the House to address them. After that, we provide a look at several other Pledge-related legislative victories for the American people that have been enacted into law. You can jump to each section here:
CREATING JOBSIn May 2011, House Republicans launched the Plan for America’s Job Creators, a Pledge to America-based pro-growth agenda aimed at removing government barriers to private-sector job creation. The House has passed dozens of jobs bills, including several that the president has signed into law – and 38 that remain blocked by Senate Democrats. You can see the full list of House-passed jobs bills here. The House has kept its pledge to offer plans for creating jobs, ending economic uncertainty, and making America more competitive by voting to: Permanently Stop All Job-Killing Tax Hikes: On December 16, 2010, the House passed and President Obama later signed legislation stopping all tax hikes for two years. On August 1, 2012, a bipartisan majority of the House passed H.R. 8 to stop all of the tax hikes for another year and protect more than 700,000 jobs. On August 2, 2012, the House passed H.R. 6169 to begin permanently fixing our tax code to help create jobs and bring home some of the jobs that have gone overseas. To date, Senate Democrats have taken no action to stop all of the tax hikes, and have instead ignored warnings from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and threatened to drive the country over the “fiscal cliff.” Give Small Businesses a Tax Deduction: On April 18, 2012, the House passed the Small Business Tax Cut Act (H.R. 9), legislation giving small businesses a tax deduction equal to 20 percent of their income. To date, Senate Democrats have taken no action on H.R. 9. Rein in the Red Tape Factory in Washington, DC: On December 7, 2011, the House passed the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act (H.R. 10), which requires Congressional approval of any new federal regulation with an annual cost to our economy of $100 million or more. The House has also passed several other bills eliminating excessive government regulations that hurt job growth and removing government obstacles to private-sector job growth. Learn more here. To date, Senate Democrats have taken no action on H.R. 10 or other legislation reining in red tape. Repeal the Job-Killing Small Business Mandates: On March 3, 2011, the House passed theSmall Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act (H.R. 4) to repeal ObamaCare’s 1099 paperwork mandate on small businesses. The bill was passed by the Senate and signed into lawon April 14, 2011.
CUTTING SPENDINGSpeaker John Boehner recently said “the threat to American jobs comes not from action on our debt, but from inaction on our debt.” That’s why Republicans have offered pro-growth proposals that “reduce spending, save Medicare, and reform other critical programs that are heading toward bankruptcy.” Through these actions, veteran reporter David Rogers says Republicans have pulled federal discretionary spending back to 2008 levels and that President Barack Obama entered 2012 “with no more purchasing power in many cases than his predecessor four years before.” The House has kept its pledge to offer plans for stopping out of control spending and reducing the size of government by voting to: Act Immediately to Reduce Spending: One of the first votes taken in the 112th Congress was to cut the House of Representatives’ budget by five percent, saving taxpayers about $35 million per year. In the second year of our majority, House Republicans cut Congress’ budget again, reducing the House budget by 10 percent over two years. Cut Government Spending to Pre-Stimulus, Pre-Bailout Levels: On March 29, 2012, the House approved a budget (H. Con. Res. 112) that would trim federal spending by more than $5 trillion over 10 years. The president’s budget, on the other hand, received zero votes in the House and Senate, and Senate Democrats haven’t proposed a budget in more than three years. House Republicans succeeded in forcing through the largest non-defense spending cut in American history, and in forcing Democrats to agree to spending cuts that exceeded the debt limit hike included in the Budget Control Act. The latter agreement reduced government spending by at least $2.1 trillion over 10 years. Here’s a look at other House efforts to cut spending, help create new jobs, and put us on a path to a balanced budget. As David Rogers noted, GOP efforts have brought us “very close to rolling back non-defense appropriations to the last year of the Bush administration.” Establish a Hard Cap on New Discretionary Spending: The Budget Control Act imposed tough caps to restrain future spending, including $21 billion in spending cuts this year and more in the years ahead (by $42 billion in 2013, $59 billion in 2014, $75 billion in 2015, $87 billion in 2016, and so on). These spending limits are critical to holding back the growth of government and giving the private sector a chance to grow and create jobs. Cut Congress’ Budget: Leading by example, Republicans cut the House budget by 10 percent in just two years. And as Roll Call reported, the “overall legislative branch budget for fiscal 2012” is “5.2 percent below fiscal 2011 spending levels and 11.3 percent short of Congress’ own fiscal 2012 request.” Hold Weekly Votes on Spending Cuts: Legislative action in the House during the 112th Congress has been dominated by House Republican efforts to control spending and crack down on waste. Republicans implemented CUTGO reforms requiring any bill containing a spending increase to be offset with a corresponding spending reduction of equal or greater size, and considered numerous spending bills with “open rules” allowing members to freely offer, debate, and vote on amendments to cut spending. End TARP Once And For All: On March 10, 2011, the House passed H.R. 830 to begin the process of shutting down the TARP bailout program, saving taxpayers billions of dollars. The House also passed H.R. 839 to cancel a TARP program “beset by problems from the outset.” President Obama threatened to veto H.R. 830 and, to date Senate Democrats have taken no action on either piece of legislation. End Government Control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: The House-passed budget for FY13 “ends the taxpayer bailouts of failed financial institutions, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.” Senate Democrats have not taken similar action. Impose a Net Hiring Freeze on Non-Security Employees: The House-passed budget for FY13 would achieve “a 10 percent reduction over the next three years in the federal workforce through attrition.” According to the Washington Post, the budget “envisions a partial federal employee hiring freeze under which only one replacement could be hired for every three employees who leave.” Senate Democrats have not taken similar action. Root Out Government Waste and Sunset Outdated & Duplicative Programs: House Republicans banned earmarks, and have passed – and the president has signed – legislation eliminating and consolidating dozens of federal programs (including more than 40 ineffective programs at the U.S. Department of Education alone). See here, here, and here. And the House-passed budget for FY13 called for “the elimination of dozens of wasteful and duplicative programs identified by non-partisan watchdogs and government auditors.” Reform the Budget Process to Focus on Long-Term Challenges: The House adopted new rules for the 112th Congress featuring several reforms that shift the focus from raising taxes to cutting spending. The House has also passed a series of budget reforms to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely (or not at all). The Baseline Reform Act (H.R. 3578) ends the baseline budget bias toward big government spending. And the Pro-Growth Budgeting Act (H.R. 3582)requires the CBO to analyze the impact major pieces of legislation will have on economic growth and job creation. And the Budget and Accounting Transparency Act (H.R. 3581) institutes critical reforms to provide a more honest and transparent accounting of Washington’s finances. Senate Democrats have not taken similar action.
REPEALING & REPLACING THE PRESIDENT’S HEALTH CARE LAWThe government takeover of health care imposed by President Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress in 2010 is driving up costs and making it harder for small businesses to hire new workers. “We voted to fully repeal the president’s health care law as one of our first acts as a new House majority,” said Speaker Boehner, “And our plan remains to repeal the law in its entirety. Anything short of that is unacceptable.” Republicans’ objective throughout the 112th Congress has been full repeal of the president’s health care law, followed by a step-by-step, common-sense approach to health care reform that begins with lowering costs. The House has fought to repeal and replace President Obama’s government takeover of health care by taking action to: Repeal the Costly Health Care Takeover of 2010: The House has voted twice – once onJanuary 19, 2011, and again on July 11, 2012 after the Supreme Court ruling – to fully repeal the president’s health care law. Senate Democrats have yet to take action on either. All together, the House has voted more than 30 times to repeal, defund and dismantle the law, and several of these measures repealing ObamaCare provisions or rescinding funding for them have been signed into law by President Obama. Enact Medical Liability reform: On March 22, 2012, the House passed the Preserving Access to Healthcare (PATH) Act (H.R. 5), legislation that would enact much-needed medical liability reforms to curb junk lawsuits and bring down health care costs. Senate Democrats have yet to take action. Allow for the Purchase of Health Insurance Across State Lines: The House Ways & Means Committee held hearings on the Health Care Choices Act (H.R. 371), legislation authored by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and co-sponsored by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), in preparation for legislative action on reforms that could be implemented after repeal of the president’s health care law. Expand Health Savings Accounts: On June 7, 2012, the House passed the Protect Medical Innovation Act (H.R. 436) to increase flexibility for families using Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs). The bill also repealed the medical device tax that is threatening American jobs and sending companies overseas. Senate Democrats have yet to take action. The House Ways & Means Committee also passed the Health Savings Account Improvements Act (H.R. 5858), which makes common sense improvements to the eligibility, contribution and expenditure rules governing HSAs. Strengthen the Doctor-Patient Relationship: On March 22, 2012, the House passed thePreserving Access to Healthcare (PATH) Act (H.R. 5), legislation to repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), the president’s unelected health care rationing board of bureaucrats which would restrict treatment options and deny access to care. Senate Democrats have yet to take action. Ensure Access for Patients with Pre-Existing Conditions: The House-passed budget for FY13 would save and strengthen Medicare for seniors, and offer guaranteed coverage options to future seniors regardless of pre-existing conditions or health history. Republicans are committed to fully repealing the president’s health care law and enacting step-by-step, common-sense solutions to lower costs and address the problems in our nation’s health care system, including for those with pre-existing conditions. Permanently Prohibit Taxpayer Funding of Abortion: On May 4, 2011, the House approved the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act (H.R. 3) to codify the Hyde Amendment and apply a permanent ban on taxpayer funding of abortion across all federal programs. And on October 22, 2011, the House approved the Protect Life Act (H.R. 358) to apple the Hyde Amendment to the president’s government takeover of health care. These bills remain blocked by the Democratic-controlled Senate.
REFORMING CONGRESSUnder previous majorities, the House of Representatives had moved further away from its roots as a deliberative body and toward a more centralized power structure – one where opportunities for open debate were minimized, amendments were increasingly discouraged, and public scrutiny of legislation was avoided. During the final two years of the House majority under Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), not a single bill was considered on the floor under an “open rule” allowing any Member the opportunity to offer amendments for debate and a vote. The Republican Majority has sought to change the way Congress does business, making the House more open and accountable, and listening to and acting on the priorities of the American people. The House has kept its pledge to reform Congress and give people a greater voice in their Congress by voting to: Read the Bill: One of the first votes taken in January 2011 was to adopt new rules to ensure that legislation is posted online at least three calendar days before a vote, with common-sense exceptions for emergencies. Adhere to the Constitution: Under the new rules adopted at the beginning of the 112th Congress, every piece of legislation must contain a statement of Constitutional authority. If a lawmaker can’t explain how a proposal is Constitutional, it doesn’t come to a vote. The Constitution was also read aloud on the House floor for the first in American history. Make It Easier to Cut Spending: The new cut-as-you-go (“CUTGO”) rule requires any new mandatory spending be offset with spending cuts – not tax hikes. Click here for a look at other reforms to the budget process in the House rules. The House has used an open process for debate on all major spending bills, making it easier than ever for lawmakers to trim spending and participate (see here for example). There wasn’t a single “open rule” under the previous Democratic-controlled majority. In his remarks to the House on the opening day of the 112th Congress, Speaker Boehner vowed to change this, and the pledge has been kept. Advance Legislative Issues One at a Time: The House has made tremendous progress toward addressing issues one at a time as opposed to in “comprehensive” packages such as the president’s massive health care law, and Republicans – heeding the will of the American people – refused to repeat the Democrats’ mistake, on health care and other key issues. On jobs, for example, rather than pass a single, massive bill like President Obama’s failed “stimulus” legislation, the House passed a steady stream of individual jobs-focused bills, one at a time, usually sending them over to the Senate with bipartisan support. Frequent inaction by the Democratic-controlled Senate has occasionally required critical legislation to be passed in tandem, but the contrast has been clear, and the new approach in the House has been a vital part of making the legislative process more open and accountable.
A STRONG NATIONAL DEFENSEThe White House proposed massive, arbitrary cuts to our military because President Obama didn’t want to deal with another debt limit debate before his re-election campaign. In May, the House voted to protect our troops and our national security by replacing this defense ‘sequester’ with common-sense spending cuts and reforms. You can see them here. Throughout the 112th Congress, the House has worked to ensure the federal government fulfills its responsibility to provide for a robust defense. The House has kept its pledge to keep our nation secure at home and abroad by voting to: Pass Clean Troop Funding Bills: The House has ended the practice of adding unpopular and unrelated measures to legislation that provides funding for America’s troops and our national security. Keep Terrorists Out of America: The National Defense Authorization Act for FY12 and FY13both prohibited the transfer of terrorist detainees from Guantanamo Bay to the United States. The FY12 legislation, H.R. 1540, was signed into law by President Obama on December 31, 2011. Demand an Overarching Detention Policy: Several House committee chairmen called on President Obama “to define his Administration’s policies on interrogation, detention, and prosecution of terrorists.” The president later signed the FY12 National Defense Authorization Act(H.R. 1540), which prohibited the transfer of detainees from Guantanamo Bay to the United States. The FY13 NDAA has similar provisions to keep terrorists off U.S. soil and protect the Constitutional rights of Americans. Fully Fund Missile Defense: The FY12 National Defense Authorization Act passed by the House increased funding for missile defense by $109.7 million above the president’s request. This was signed into law on December 31, 2011. Then on May 18, 2012, the House passed the FY13 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 4310) which provides further funding for “a robust national missile defense,” including $100 million for a missile defense site on the East Coast to protect against threats from Iran. Require Tough Enforcement of Sanctions Against Iran: On August 1, 2012, the House passed the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (H.R. 1905) which strengthened U.S. sanctions against Iran in order to force the regime to abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons. The Senate passed and the president signed H.R. 1905 into law. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) said, “Now that he has signed this bill, President Obama must vigorously enforce and implement its provisions.” Establish Operational Control of the Border: On May 30, 2012, the House passed the Secure Border Act (H.R. 1299) which requires the Obama administration to outline a strategy for getting operational control of our borders. The House will also be voting on the Border Security Information Improvement Act (H.R. 6368) which requires the Department of Justice and Homeland Security to report to Congress on cross-border violence along the southwest border. Work With State and Local Officials to Enforce Our Immigration Laws: On June 7, 2012, the House passed the Homeland Security Appropriations Act (H.R. 5855), which included funding for Section 287(g) grants that go to state and local officials for enforcement of immigration laws. The House Judiciary Committee has also conducted aggressive oversight of the Obama Administration’s lawsuit against Arizona, and attempts by the White House to cut funding needed to assist state and local officials. Strengthen Visa Security: The House Judiciary Committee passed the Secure Visas Act (H.R. 1741) which makes the visa process more secure, and helps prevent terrorists from obtaining U.S. visas and allows U.S. officials to expedite the removal of terrorists whose visas have been revoked. The committee is working to offset the cost of the measure before it comes to a vote in the House.
CHECKS & BALANCESRepublicans also pledge to “serve as a check and a balance against any schemes that are inconsistent with the priorities and rights of the American people,” and to work to change the metrics by which a Congress is held accountable. With that in mind, the House has kept its pledge to: Fight to ensure transparency and accountability in Congress and throughout government: The House has taken numerous steps to make itself more open and accountable: legislative documents are posted online in XML on docs.House.gov and efforts are underway to provide bulk access; the House floor, committee hearings, and Speaker events are streamed live; mobile apps (here and here) make Congressional information more accessible; digital tools have been embraced by lawmakers to lower costs and better connect with constituents; media accessinside Congress was expanded; and more. Continue to fight the growth of government and oppose new stimulus spending that only puts our nation further in debt: Instead of more rounds of failed ‘stimulus’-style spending as proposed by President Obama, the House has enacted legislation that eliminates and reforms federal government programs, and passed legislation that removes government barriers to job growth and addresses our ever-growing debt. Fight efforts to fund the costly new health care law: The House-passed budgets this year (H.Con.Res. 112) and last (H.Con.Res. 34) fully repeal and defund the government takeover of health care. Several amendments to H.R. 1 would prohibit funding from being used to implement or enforce provisions of the law. While Senate Democrats haven’t passed similar legislation, the House successfully repealed several of the health care law’s slush funds and programs in other spending agreements. Fight to increase access to domestic energy sources and oppose attempts to impose a national “cap and trade” energy tax: On April 7, 2011, the House passed the Energy Tax Prevention Act (H.R. 910) to prevent the Obama administration from imposing a back-door national energy tax. As part of the new American Energy Initiative, the House has also passed several bills to unlock America’s vast energy resources, address high prices, and help create thousands of new jobs. Here’s a look. And the No More Solyndras Act (H.R. 6213) would protect taxpayers by winding down the administration’s failed energy loan program. To date, Senate Democrats have taken no action on H.R. 910 or any of the other House-passed energy and jobs bills. Fight for the rights of workers and oppose “card check” schemes that put Washington union bosses before individuals’ right to a secret ballot: On November 30, 2011, the House passed the Workforce Democracy & Fairness Act (H.R. 3094) to protect workers from National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regulations that allowed for “ambush elections” and “regulatory card check.” The House also passed the Protecting Jobs from Government Interference Act (H.R. 2587), which would protect jobs by preventing the NLRB from telling employers where they can and can’t hire new workers. To date, Senate Democrats have taken action on neither bill. Fight efforts to use a national crisis for political gain: While President Obama has created controversy where there was none and wasted valuable time on gimmicks, the House of Representatives has remained focused on keeping its Pledge to America. And while parts of the Pledge remain a work-in-progress, our success requires a responsible U.S. Senate and leadership from the White House – two things completely lacking in Washington. Republicans will continue working to keep our Pledge, to “solve our problems for the common good,” and to “uphold the purpose and promise of a better America” for all.
OTHER LEGISLATIVE VICTORIES FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLEBy keeping their Pledge to “advance policies that promote greater liberty, wider opportunity, a robust defense, and national economic prosperity,” House Republicans have overcome an inactive Senate and an election-focused White House to win several other important victories for the American people. For example:
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August 12, 2012
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:
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August 03, 2012
During the month of July, Congressman John Boehner focused on stopping President Obama’s small business tax hike in interviews with FOX News and CNN; paid tribute to Private First Class Jacob Chestnut and Detective John Gibson of the U.S. Capitol Police; remembered the victims of the tragedy in Aurora, Colorado; presented a Congressional Gold Medal honoring Constantino Brumidi, and much more. The full set of photos can be seen on Flickr, complete with captions and additional information:
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August 02, 2012
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.
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July 27, 2012
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:
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
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July 26, 2012
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. “Hi, I’m John Boehner.
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July 24, 2012
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. “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 2nd 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 2nd 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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July 16, 2012
“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”:
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…
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.
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July 11, 2012
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. In the message, Boehner highlights upcoming votes to pass pro-growth legislation including bills that will stop President Obama’s massive tax hike on small businesses, curtail excessive government regulations, and repeal ObamaCare which will take place this afternoon. Today’s vote demonstrates that the Republican-led House of Representatives is listening to the people – not the Washington pundits and Beltway chattering class – and taking action to fully repeal the unpopular health care law Americans know is hurting our economy and making it harder for small businesses to hire workers.Learn more about House Republicans’ Plan for America’s Job Creators by visiting jobs.GOP.gov. “Last week’s dismal jobs report is more proof that President Obama’s economic policies have failed.
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July 01, 2012
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.” |