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.

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.

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.” 

Congressman John Boehner delivered the following remarks today at a press conference responding to President Obama’s claim that – after 40 months of unemployment above 8 percent and with millions of Americans out of work – the “private sector is doing fine.” Congressman Boehner said:

“Mr. President, I used to run a small business.  And Mr. President, take it from me, the private sector is not doing well.

“Listen, the American people are still asking the question, ‘where are the jobs?’ Stopping the looming tax hikes will help job creators because they’ll have more certainty about what the tax rates are going to be and help create a better environment for them to create jobs.

“We’re going to vote next month on extending all of the current tax rates. The president should assure the nation that when this bill gets to his desk he’ll sign it into law.

“We also know that the president’s health care law is making it harder for small businesses to hire, and we know that it must be repealed in its entirety. This morning, we learned more about the backroom deals that were made that led to its passage. Emails obtained by the Energy & Commerce Committee show that the White House traded billions of dollars in policy concessions to PhRMA for millions of dollars worth of advertising. The administration created and managed a Super PAC, paid for by PhRMA and run by Jim Messina out of the West Wing of the White House. This is wrong, and the administration must be held accountable for their actions.”

Today, Congressman John Boehner responded to phone calls and emails from Eighth District constituents regarding House efforts to repeal the president’s unpopular and harmful 2010 health care law, which is driving up health care costs and making it harder for small businesses to hire workers.  In the video, Boehner speaks directly to Michael from Eaton, who voiced his opinion by email, saying he wanted to see the “full and total repeal of ObamaCare.”

As Boehner notes in the video, “repealing ObamaCare was one of the first votes taken by this Congress.  Since then, we’ve voted 29 times to repeal, defund, and dismantle the law.”  In a recent weekly column, Congressman Boehner reiterated his commitment to taking action on ObamaCare, saying, “the president's health care law is raising costs and hurting small businesses, and it must be fully repealed.” 

Today, the House will take its 30^th vote in this effort by voting to repeal ObamaCare’s Medical Device Tax.  This job-crushing tax threatens thousands of jobs across the state of Ohio, including some jobs in the Eighth District and surrounding areas.  As the Dayton Business Journal points out, “The Dayton region is home to many medical device manufacturers, including AtriCure Inc. in West Chester, X-Spine Systems Inc. in Centerville and Mauch Inc. in Dayton, among others” that may be impacted.

Let us know what you think about ObamaCare in the comments below, and please take a minute to watch Boehner’s message here:

“Every week I hear from Eighth District constituents who oppose the president’s health care law, which is making it harder for small businesses to hire new workers.

“Michael from Eaton wrote that he wants to see “full and total repeal of Obamacare.”

“Now, repealing ObamaCare was one of the first votes taken by this Congress.  Since then, we’ve voted 29 times to repeal, defund, and dismantle the law.  And while the Democratic-controlled Senate continues to block these and other jobs bills, we are going to continue to take action.

“This week the House will vote to repeal ObamaCare’s medical device tax. 

“In Ohio alone, this new tax threatens the jobs of more than 35,000 people.  With many medical device manufacturers headquartered in our area, it will surely affect families in our community and our region’s economy.

“While we continue to fight for full repeal of ObamaCare, repealing this tax will protect jobs here in Ohio and across the country.

“Michael, you are not alone in being against ObamaCare and I appreciate you adding your voice to the fight. 

“Please visit johnboehner.house.gov and let me know what you think of the president’s health care law.  I look forward to hearing from you.”

John Boehner: We can't ignore our debt
By John Boehner
USA Today
May 22, 2012

The American people continue to ask "where are the jobs?" and the overspending going on in Washington, D.C., is a big part of the reason why. Our national debt, which has grown significantly due to President Obama's failed "stimulus" policies, is a drain on our economy and a crushing burden on our kids and grandkids.

Last month, a USA TODAY editorial called our debt and deficits "an increasingly urgent national crisis." It is, and one we cannot ignore. Unfortunately, inaction is exactly what the president and members of his party have in mind. They went into a state of panic recently when I said we should talk about — and yes, actually solve — the debt problem that's hurting our economy. There have even been suggestions that these calls for action to heal our economy are somehow designed to do it harm.

Talking about our debt isn't the problem — failing to fix it is. Last August, Standard & Poor's announced it was downgrading the nation's credit rating because a budget agreement between the president and Congress "falls short of the amount we believe is necessary to stabilize the general government debt burden."

Why did that agreement fall short? When push came to shove, President Obama could not resist political pressure to push for tax hikes on small-business job creators. We were on the verge of a breakthrough agreement, but he moved the goal posts and walked away. The president lost his courage, and the country lost its gold-plated triple-A credit rating for the first time.
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Since then, the president has been in campaign mode — playing small ball at a time when we need to address big challenges. Until we get a grip on our debt, our economy will continue to suffer and we run the risk of another downgrade, which will make job creation ever harder. Americans deserve a better economic future and an administration willing to tackle this debt crisis before it tackles us.

Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, is speaker of the House of Representatives.

“Our economy continues to struggle, and the president’s health care law is making things worse,” Congressman John Boehner said today. Whether the Supreme Court strikes down all or part, or upholds the law as it is, Boehner says Republicans are committed to “repealing ObamaCare in its entirety”:

“Our economy continues to struggle, and the president’s health care law is making things worse -- raising health costs and making it harder for small businesses to hire workers.  The only way to change this is by repealing ObamaCare in its entirety.  We voted to fully repeal the president’s health care law as one of our first acts as a new House majority, and our plan remains to repeal the law in its entirety.  Anything short of that is unacceptable.” – Congressman John Boehner

The House Republican majority has voted 29 times so far to repeal, defund, and dismantle President Obama’s health care law. Here’s an update to a previous post looking at these efforts:

• REPEALING THE LAW: One of the first actions taken by the House in 2011 was to adopt H.R. 2, a bill repealing the health care law in its entirety.

• DEFUNDING THE LAW: The jobs-focused budgets passed by the House 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.

• REPEALING THE SMALL BUSINESS PAPERWORK MANDATE: The House passed and the president signed H.R. 4, Pledge to America legislation that repealed the health care law’s job-crushing paperwork mandate.

• FREEZING THE IRS BUDGET: Another provision in the spending cut agreement prevented the IRS from hiring 16,500 new agents to help impose the health care law’s tax hikes and mandates.

• ELIMINATING SLUSH FUNDS: Several ObamaCare slush funds were eliminated in last year’s spending cut agreement signed by President Obama. The House approved H.R. 1213 and H.R. 1214 to repeal other slush funds and save taxpayers billions of dollars. And the House recently cut an ObamaCare slush fund to pay for a bill that stops student loan rates from doubling.

• SCRAPPING THE RATIONING BOARD: The House passed legislation (H.R. 5) repealing the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), a panel of 15 unelected and unaccountable government bureaucrats tasked with rationing care for America’s seniors.

• EXPOSING TRUE COST OF THE LAW: The House voted to repeal the CLASS Act (H.R. 1173) whose phantom “savings” were “crucial to garnering support for passage” of Obamacare, according to a bicameral Congressional investigation.

• BACKING STATES & SMALL BUSINESSES: Congressman John Boehner filed a brief in federal court backing the effort by states and small businesses challenging the constitutionality of the law.

• HOLDING THE ADMINISTRATION ACCOUNTABLE: House committees held roughly three dozen hearings in 2011 examining the impact of ObamaCare on job growth, the costs imposed on families and small businesses, the administration’s use of waivers to exempt select groups from the law’s mandates, the constitutionality of the law, and much more. 

The president’s health care law makes it harder for small businesses to hire new workers, jeopardizes seniors’ access to care, and adds to the debt that threatens job growth. It needs to go.“There’s only one way to truly fix ObamaCare,” Congressman Boehner has said -- “and that’s by fully repealing it.”

Republicans made a Pledge to America to repeal ObamaCare and create a better environment for private-sector job growth. And the House is going to continue working to keep that pledge to repeal the law and then work on step-by-step, common-sense legislation that will help lower health care costs for families and small businesses, and protect American jobs.

In an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett following remarks to the Paul G. Peterson Foundation’s Fiscal Summit, Congressman John Boehner said there’s no reason to wait until we reach the debt limit to enact real spending cuts and reforms – the American people are ready, Republicans are ready – “let’s go.”

The only stumbling blocks are President Obama and the Democratic-controlled Senate who appear afraid – or unwilling – to seriously address America’s economic challenges. As Burnett pointed out, top Democrats are already criticizing what Stanford economist John B. Taylor dubbed the “Boehner principle” – that spending cuts and reforms (not tax hikes) exceed any debt limit increase – as a “line in the sand.” Boehner responded:

“It is a line in the sand because Washington has kicked the can down the road, kicked the can down the road, kicked the can down the road and the American people think we're crazy.  They're re-- ready for Washington to take action.  I'm here.  I'm ready to do it.  Let's go.”

Boehner explained how the tax hikes demanded by Democrats would only do more damage to our economy and put more people out of work. Instead, Boehner said “We've gotta have real economic growth and we have to have real controls on spending.”

The House already started by passing a responsible budget that cuts spending and preserves our biggest entitlement programs for our children and grandchildren. And last week, the House voted to reduce the deficit by additional $242.8 billion while protecting our troops and their families. But bills like these and others that create a better environment for job growth are being blocked by Senate Democrats.

Click here to watch and read Boehner’s full remarks from yesterday.