John Boehner 8TH DISCTRICT OF OHIO

In the debate over avoiding the “fiscal cliff,” an important point has been forgotten: when it comes to solving our debt, government spending is the problem that must be addressed.

Republicans have offered a balanced, pro-growth solution that would avert the fiscal cliff by making needed spending cuts and reforming our tax code in ways the president previously supported. This kind of plan – backed by a majority of the American people in survey after survey – would help address our debt and pave the way for long-term job growth.

President Obama and Democrats, on the other hand, want to punish small businesses with higher tax rates while increasing spending. The president has demanded as much as four times in tax hikes versus spending cuts, which are dwarfed by new ‘stimulus.’ This isn’t balanced. And it won’t do any good.

The chart above – prepared by Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) and the House Budget Committee – shows what happens to projected levels of tax revenue (green) if President Obama’s tax increases kick in (blue), and compares that with recent and projected spending trajectory (red). As you can see, if the president gets his tax hikes, we still face a mountain of spending-driven debt.

Even Democrats like Erskine Bowles admit, “We have to cut spending.” As said on CBS Face the Nation, “Even if you raise the top rates back to the Clinton rates, that only creates about $400 billion over 10 years. That's $40 billion a year. We have a trillion dollar a year deficit.”

Spending is the problem. Republicans want to make needed spending cuts; Democrats are silent. And that’s why there’s still no agreement on averting the fiscal cliff.

• CLICK HERE FOR A HIGH-RES VERSION OF THE CHART

November saw a new rush of activity in the Capitol, with Speaker Boehner appearing in the Rayburn Room the day after the election to call for bipartisan action to avert the fiscal cliff. Those efforts continued throughout the month, as Boehner joined GOP leaders for a meeting with the “Fix the Debt” coalition and delivered the Weekly Republican Address.

Boehner also welcomed a group of World War II Honor Flight veterans to the Rotunda; celebrated the 237th birthday of the Marine Corps; honored Dr. James H. Billington for 25 years of service as Librarian of Congress; and accepted a portrait of outgoing Science, Space, Technology Committee chairman Ralph Hall (R-TX) into the House collection.

The full set of photos can be seen below or on Flickr, complete with captions and additional information:

Speaker Boehner and House Republican leaders just finished up a meeting with small business owners who will get hit if President Obama raises tax rates instead of cutting spending. A former small business owner, Boehner kicked off the discussion by outlining the consequences of the president’s tax rate hikes, and Republicans’ responsible efforts to protect jobs:

“These small business owners that are with us today are here to highlight President Obama’s plan to raise tax rates instead of cutting spending. His plan will hurt nearly a million small businesses around our country, that will affect hundreds of thousands of jobs. Now this week, we made a reasonable offer to the White House that would avert the fiscal cliff… It’s up to the president to engage in this process, talk to us about where he’d like to go next.”

The Hill has previously noted that “Republicans hope to contrast their meeting with small business owners to Obama’s recent talks with CEO’s from large corporations.” Indeed, as Speaker Boehner said on Friday, “Small business owners are regular men and women from all backgrounds, who in today’s economy are facing challenges on a daily basis.” The House Small Business Committee has collected some of those everyday stories, which go into detail about the hurdles the president’s tax rate hikes presents.

Small businesses are protected from tax rate hikes in the reasonable and responsible offer Republicans have made to avert the fiscal cliff, calling instead for cutting spending and fixing our tax code – an approach supported by most Americans, and the president himself in 2011.

Boehner: President Obama' s Fiscal Cliff Offer is "Nonsense," a "Non-Serious Proposal":

"A non-serious proposal. The president was asking for $1.6 trillion worth of, uh, new revenue over 10 years, twice as much as he's been asking for in public. He has stimulus spending in here that exceeded the amount of new cuts that he was willing to consider. It was not a serious offer. ... I looked at [Secretary Geithner] and I said, 'you can't be serious?' ... You know, we've got several weeks between Election Day and the end of the year. And, uh -- and three of those way -- weeks have been wasted, uh, with the -- with this nonsense."

Boehner: President Obama Asked for More New Spending Than Spending Cuts:

"We've put a serious offer on the table by putting revenues up there to try to get this question resolved. But the White House has responded with virtually nothing. They have actually asked for more revenue than they've been -- been asking for the whole entire time. ... And all of this new stimulus spending would literally be more than the spending cuts that he was willing to put on the table. ... Look at the fact that they put $400 billion worth of unspecified cuts up that they'd be willing to talk about, but yet, at the same time, that's over $400 billion over 10 years. Uh, while he wants over $400 billion in new stimulus spending. And this is -- this is -- it's a non-serious proposal."

Boehner: What Will President Obama Do With $1.6 Trillion? Spend It!

"I mean think about the -- the proposal we got from the president. If we gave the president $1.6 trillion of new money, what do you think he'd do with it? He's going to spend it. It's what Washington does. ... They'll spend it."

Boehner: Raising Tax Rates Will Hurt Small Businesses and Destroy Jobs:

"Now, listen, I believe that raising tax rates hurts our economy, hurts the prospects for more jobs in our country. And I realize that the president may disagree. But the fact is, is that if there's another way to get revenue, uh, from upper income Americans, that doesn't hurt our economy, then why wouldn't we consider it?"

Boehner: Spending Cuts & Reforms Must Exceed Any Increase in the Debt Limit:

"Forever. Silliness. Congress is never going to give up this power. I've made it clear to the president that every time we get to the debt limit, we need cuts and reforms that are greater than the increase in the debt limit. It's the only way to leverage the political process to produce more change than what it would if left alone.

Boehner: Going Over the Fiscal Cliff Will Hurt Our Economy, Is Not Fair to the American People:

"[T]his isn't an issue about Democrats and Republicans. My goodness, this is about our country. And we get -- ought to get serious about dealing with the problems at the end of the year. And we need to get serious about our deficit and our debt, uh, that are burying our children's future. ... [G]oing over the cliff will hurt our economy, will hurt job creation in our country. It's not fair to the American people. ... This agreement should come sooner rather than later, because just the threat of the fiscal cliff is already hurting our economy."

• In “Obama's 'balanced' approach hits a Democratic wall,” the Los Angeles Times says while Republicans have offered revenue via tax reform and “limiting deductions,” Democrats in Congress are “entrenched” and demanding “no cuts in federal spending.”
  
• Top Democrats “have resisted changes to entitlement programs as part of the fiscal-cliff negotiations,” says the Washington Post.
• “Democrats need to move on reforming entitlements to get a year-end budget deal, former Clinton White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles said Wednesday” according to Market Watch. “He said Republicans were clear that there’s need for revenue and for entitlement reforms – and added it’s up to Democrats to move in that direction.”
• There has been “scant talk” from President Obama “about his priorities when it comes to curbing spending,” says the New York Times, even though he “says he wants a ‘balanced’ approach to restoring the nation’s fiscal order.”

Republicans have already met President Obama’s call for a balanced approach: the GOP offered to accept revenue via tax reform, and the House has passed two budgets outlining real spending cuts and reforms. Republicans also passed legislation stopping all of the tax hikes on middle class families and small businesses, and voted to replace the defense sequester with common-sense cuts.

So the key question remains: what cuts are Democrats willing to make to avert the fiscal cliff?

On October 25, Speaker John Boehner sent a letter to President Obama asking him to answer several key questions and concerns about his administration’s response to the terrorist attack in Libya.

The president still hasn’t responded.

“Americans remain concerned and frustrated about how your Administration has handled the response to the attack,” wrote Boehner. For example, “The American public is increasingly reading information contradicting early accounts by your Administration of the causes of the events of the day.”

The administration itself has been a source for much of the confusion. USA Today highlights aCBS News interview from September 12 where President Obama “said it was ‘too early to tell’ whether the attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya was an act of terrorism.” Weeks later, the president claimed he had labeled it a “terrorist attack” the day after it occurred. The American people deserve an explanation.

Speaker Boehner also asked whether Ambassador Stevens ever made “any direct observations or [raised] any concerns” to the president or his staff “about the security situation” Libya. Fox Newsreports that “[t]he president did not give a yes-or-no answer” when “asked pointedly whether the Americans under attack in Benghazi, Libya, were denied requests for help during the attack.” Again, the American people deserve an explanation.

Click here to read Boehner’s letter and to see the other questions that remain unanswered by the president and his administration.

In a weekly column released in his Congressional District, Congressman John Boehner says the president’s “fiscal cliff” tax hikes pose a real threat to middle class families and small businesses – and the Democrats who are willing to drive us over the cliff in their quest to enact those tax hikes are practicing “‘Thelma and Louise’ economics.”

The House passed a bipartisan bill to avoid the “fiscal cliff” by stopping all of the president’s tax hikes, and voted to begin fixing the tax code to help grow our economy and bring jobs home from overseas. Republicans are working to “fight the debt through economic growth,” says Boehner – “and we won’t have economic growth if we raise taxes on small businesses.” Here’s an excerpt from his column:

“Driving off the fiscal cliff would have disastrous effects for our country. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says it would send the struggling U.S. economy into recession. And credit agencies such as Moody’s indicate another downgrade of the nation’s credit status is likely if an agreement isn’t reached to steer clear.

“The stance being taken by these Democratic senators is rooted in the flawed belief that our country can spend, tax, and borrow its way out of debt.

“The problem, as the Ernst & Young report illustrates, is that raising taxes on small businesses will destroy jobs and inhibit growth. The only way we can fix the deficit and address the debt is to get the economy moving again, and keep it moving. That requires reform of both the tax code and the way the federal government spends taxpayers’ money. Instead of raising tax rates on small businesses, we need an overhaul of the tax code that supports growth by closing loopholes and lowering taxes instead of raising them.”

To paraphrase the Wall Street Journal, Thelma & Louise may be a great movie – but it’s terrible economic policy. Read Boehner’s full column here.