Hoyer Press Staff Blog
Blog posts from the press staff of Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer
Wanted to be sure you saw this NY Times editorial highlighting new details of Republicans’ extreme budget that ends the Medicare guarantee, targets the most vulnerable, puts our economy at risk, and cuts taxes for the wealthy.
We’ve got a number of questions on the “election-year giveaway” (according to Bruce Bartlett) Republicans brought to the House Floor today. While it’s entertaining watching Republicans contort themselves to make this look like it’s about small businesses, the numbers make it pretty clear that it’s about relief for the wealthiest while everyone else bears the cost.
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: House Republicans are in disarray over their 90-day highway extension, with conservatives pushing to include more provisions from their partisan bill that destroys jobs and fails to meet our nation’s infrastructure needs.
Wanted to make sure you all saw this op-ed in the Tampa Bay Times by former Republican Florida Governor Charlie Christ, arguing against Florida’s controversial new voter registration laws.
Over the past year, new measures have been introduced by Republicans in Florida and other states that would make it harder for millions of eligible voters to register or vote. Democrats have been fighting partisan efforts to hinder access to the ballot, and we’re happy to finally see a Republican like Gov. Christ agree.
Key Point: “Good government begins with the voter, and creating barriers to voter registration or access to the polls is contrary to our democratic ideals. The right to vote is sacred, and people have fought and died to protect it… [I]mposing stiff penalties on those who are trying to promote participation in the electoral process in good faith will most assuredly reduce confidence in the electoral process…Florida should be doing all it can to promote more voter participation, not creating barriers to it.”
Looks like the Republican budget isn’t receiving a warm welcome outside of Washington. A Reuters article highlights voters’ concerns over the GOP budget to end the Medicare guarantee and put our economy at risk while cutting taxes for the wealthy.
An editorial in today’s New York Times examines Republicans’ claims that they are responsible for our economic recovery. So what exactly has the GOP done to help lower unemployment and restore stability? Since taking the House majority, Republicans took our country to the brink of government shutdown, threatened to default on our nation’s obligations, walked away from meaningful deficit reduction, put middle class tax cuts at risk, and still haven’t put forward a comprehensive jobs plan. As the editorial points out, their rhetoric does not match the reality.
We know how much you all enjoyed Democrats’ voting “present” strategy last year to put passage or failure of the extreme RSC budget solely on Republicans’ shoulders. Well, this year we’re doing something similar. This time around, Democrats will hold their votes until the very end, so everyone can see exactly where Republicans stand on the extreme RSC budget. Last year we said the RSC budget was the Republican budget on steroids, and this year’s version is even worse: ending Medicare as we know it, benefitting the wealthy, and completely decimating critical programs and investments.
The Republican budget makes the wrong choices and places the burden of deficit reduction onto seniors, the middle class, working families, and the most vulnerable by refusing to ask the wealthiest among us to contribute. But don’t just take our word for it.
Helpful advice for our Republican friends: you can use all the “poll-tested words” and “props” you want, but that won’t fool the American people into thinking the GOP budget is anything but a repeat of last year: a budget that ends the Medicare guarantee and hurts our economic recovery.
It’s been a rough week for House Republicans as they continue to struggle with division among the party over their budget that ends the Medicare guarantee and hurts our economic recovery.
Conservative quote of the day on the House Republican budget goes to the President of Club for Growth and former GOP Congressman Chris Chocola:
“It is hard to have confidence that our long-term fiscal challenges will be met responsibly when the same Congress that passed the Budget Control Act wants to ignore it less than one year later.”
Couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
A look at the morning news shows Republicans are still divided over their budget that ends the Medicare guarantee and hurts our economic recovery.
Reviews are in on the Republican budget introduced yesterday and they are not pretty. Editorial boards agree the GOP budget will hurt our economic recovery and favors tax breaks for the wealthy at the expense of seniors, the middle class, working families, and the most vulnerable.
Even as Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan unveiled the House Republican budget today, a Roll Call article highlights continuing GOP divisions.
A look at recent news shows Rep. Paul Ryan isn’t fooling anyone – everyone knows the Republican budget is a repeat of last year and House Republicans are once again calling for the end of the Medicare guarantee and higher health care costs for seniors.
As the House returns to session on Monday, Speaker Boehner has two options: bring up the bipartisan Senate highway bill which passed with a bipartisan vote of 74-22, or keep trying to cobble together a partisan bill that’s not popular even in his own party. In case you missed them, here are some stories highlighting the difficult road ahead for divided House Republicans as the Senate’s highway bill arrives with strong support from their colleagues in that chamber.
Wanted to make sure you saw this Washington Post article from Dana Milbank on the Republican distortions on gas prices.
Another week begins with Speaker Boehner’s highway bill still stuck in neutral, as House Republicans remain divided on a path forward for their partisan highway bill that destroys 550,000 jobs, rolls back safety and environmental standards, and fails to meet our nation’s infrastructure needs.
Wanted to be sure you saw this Politico article highlighting ongoing GOP division as gridlock continues over their highway bill that destroys 550,000 jobs, rolls back safety and environmental standards, and fails to meet our nation’s infrastructure needs.
A new Kaiser Family Foundation poll out today shows Republican efforts to roll back new health care freedoms, restrict women’s health care access, end the Medicare guarantee, and raise health care costs for seniors still aren’t popular with the American people.
A look at the morning headlines shows GOP leadership scrambling to save Speaker Boehner’s highway to nowhere bill and struggling with a divided conference as they attempt to retool a bill that destroys 550,000 jobs, rolls back safety and environmental standards, and fails to meet our nation’s infrastructure needs.
A look at today’s headlines shows that Republicans are deeply divided and scrambling to find support for Speaker Boehner’s partisan highway bill. Instead of following the Senate’s lead and working with Democrats on a bipartisan path forward, Republican leadership insists on moving forward with a partisan bill that lacks support among their own Members – forcing Speaker Boehner to “punt” on the bill and throwing the process into disarray.
Just a quick note for Speaker Boehner: When it comes to your behemoth of a highway bill, the problem is your policies, not the process.
Democrats are committed to ensuring that every eligible voter has access to the ballot and remain vigilant when it comes to efforts by Republican lawmakers in several states to impose new barriers to voting.
Over 400 days have gone by since House Republicans took the majority, and they still haven’t put forward a comprehensive jobs plan. So, what did they do today?
