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Boehner: Don’t ‘Turn the Page’ on Our Troops in Iraq

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

KEY QUOTE: “Over the past several months, we’ve often heard about ending the war in Iraq, but not much about winning the war in Iraq. If we honor what our men and women fought for, we cannot turn our backs now on what they have achieved. When we support our troops, we support them all the way — there is no such thing as supporting our troops, but not their mission.”

Don’t ‘Turn the Page’ on Our Troops in Iraq
John Boehner | September 01, 2010
Military.com

Last night in his Oval Office address to the nation, our Commander-in-Chief said it’s time to “turn the page” on our country’s current mission in Iraq. While we welcome the shift from a combat role to an advisory and assistance mission for the Iraqi government and its security forces, let’s not forget that we still have 50,000 American troops serving in harm’s way separated by distance and danger from their families.

For the troops that remain in Iraq today, and for their families, the war will not be over until they come home. And though the mission has changed, their work remains as critical today as it has ever been.

There is no stronger bulwark against the menace posed by the Iranian regime and other extremist forces in the region than a democratic Iraq. There is no greater inspiration to moderate governments and reformers in the region than a successful Iraq. And there is no better argument against those who preach intolerance and hatred than a free, stable, thriving Iraq.

That is why our mission in Iraq remains critically important. The United States must maintain an active role in helping the Iraqi government build, foster, and sustain institutions that build national unity within the country. Iraqi political parties and leaders must end the political stalemate that has stalled the formation of a new government in Baghdad. Iraq is critical to our immediate and long-term national security interests, and we must protect the economic, political, and security progress that has been made.

The hard truth is that Iraq will continue to remain a target for those who hope to destroy freedom and democracy. The Iraqi people — and the American people — deserve to know what we are prepared to do if the cause for which our troops sacrificed their lives is threatened. It was disappointing that the President didn’t address that question last night when he spoke to the nation, and the world.

The President thanked our troops for their courage and sacrifice, and all that they have accomplished, as he should. But I am disappointed that the President didn’t use his speech as an opportunity to articulate in a coherent, consistent manner to our troops, their families and fellow citizens the cause, purpose, and goal of our mission in Iraq. Because no voice — no matter how strong or committed — can substitute for the voice of our country’s Commander-in-Chief.

As I said in a speech at the American Legion National Convention yesterday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, these imperatives should not be communicated in the manner of ‘checking a box.’ Our mission in Iraq, as well as the one in Afghanistan, should not be bunched together among a laundry list of political challenges.

The surge of troops that President Bush announced in 2007 paved the way for this progress. Ironically, those leaders who opposed, criticized, and fought tooth-and-nail to stop the surge strategy now proudly claim credit for the results. But it is our troops who deserve the credit, along with their commanders, General David Petraeus and General Ray Odierno.

I released a video last week thanking our troops and their families, and reminding Americans of all that they have done to help bring stability and security to the Iraqi people.

Over the past several months, we’ve often heard about ending the war in Iraq, but not much about winning the war in Iraq. If we honor what our men and women fought for, we cannot turn our backs now on what they have achieved.

When we support our troops, we support them all the way — there is no such thing as supporting our troops, but not their mission.

Victory in Iraq was the only option in 2007 — and it is the only option now.

Tags: national security, war on terror
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Boehner: Troops Deserve Credit for Iraq Progress

Friday, August 27th, 2010

KEY QUOTE: “While the administration continues seeking credit for ‘ending the combat mission’ in Iraq, it is important to remember that this transition was made possible by the very surge that President Obama and Vice President Biden opposed. With all due respect to them, our troops who have served so courageously in Iraq deserve the credit for the success of the surge and, along with the Iraqi people, the turnaround in Iraq.”

Troops Deserve Credit for Iraq Progress
by Minority Leader John Boehner
Human Events
08/27/2010

In January 2007, the situation in Iraq was grim. The evening news was dominated by horrific accounts of indiscriminate violence—torture, kidnapping and killing—that had left millions of innocent civilians desperate and defenseless against a ruthless terrorist enemy.

Our men and women in uniform had fought bravely and forcefully for years, but the future remained bleak. Calls for withdrawing our troops were increasing, and the patience of the American people was waning.

When President Bush announced the troop surge, it was widely viewed as our last chance to prevent Iraq from spiraling into an irreversible descent towards chaos—an outcome which would have given terrorists a safe haven to plan attacks against the United States and our allies and to directly threaten our national interests in the region.

It was our last chance—and the only option—to turn around the security environment. That’s why I and my fellow Republicans stood on principle and supported the new strategy in Iraq, fortified by a surge of U.S. troops.

Not everyone was convinced, however. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) claimed that the strategy had failed just weeks after it had begun. Her views were echoed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D.-Nev.), who declared in April 2007 that “this war is lost.”

Then-Sen. Barack Obama, who campaigned on his opposition to the Iraq war, flatly declared that the troop surge would not work: “I am not persuaded that 20,000 additional troops in Iraq is going to solve the sectarian violence there. In fact, I think it will do the reverse.”

I’m sure glad our troops proved them wrong. And I’m sure glad President Obama didn’t listen to Sen. Obama.

On August 31, the U.S. mission in Iraq will shift from a combat role to an advisory mission to support the Iraqi government and its security forces. Our troops have already begun performing these roles in many parts of the country. While the administration continues seeking credit for “ending the combat mission” in Iraq, it is important to remember that this transition was made possible by the very surge that President Obama and Vice President Biden opposed.

With all due respect to them, our troops who have served so courageously in Iraq deserve the credit for the success of the surge and, along with the Iraqi people, the turnaround in Iraq.

The success of the troop surge is undeniable. By taking the fight to al Qaeda, other terrorist threats, and the insurgency, our men and women in uniform succeeded in providing greater security to the Iraqi population and giving the government the time to build capacity to more effectively meet the needs of the Iraqi people. As a result, the drawdown of U.S. troops that began in 2008 has been able to continue. I commend President Obama for listening to our commanders in the field and working closely with them, the Iraqi people, and the Congress to ensure that we continue making significant strides there.

We know there is much difficult work that remains. The United States, having invested blood and treasure in Iraq, must maintain an active role in helping the Iraqi government build, foster, and sustain institutions that build national unity within the country. Iraqi political parties and leaders must end the political stalemate that has stalled the formation of a new government in Baghdad. Iraq is critical to our immediate and long-term national security interests, and we must protect the economic, political, and security progress that has been made.

This discussion wouldn’t have been possible, however, were it not for the courage and sacrifices made by our troops, as well as their families. It is with great pride and profound gratitude that we reflect on all that our men and women in uniform have done, and all that they continue to do, to advance freedom abroad and strengthen our security here at home.

Tags: national security, war on terror
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Boehner: How will raising taxes put Ohioans back to work?

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

KEY QUOTE: “The very threat of these tax hikes, combined with the new health care law and the hundreds of new rules and mandates coming out of the Obama Administration, are freezing employers with uncertainty at a time when we need them to invest in their growth.”

How will raising taxes put Ohioans back to work?
John Boehner
Troy Daily News
August 18, 2010

Disappointed Ohioans are asking “where are the jobs?” as President Obama returned Tuesday to Columbus – the city where he kicked off his “Recovery Summer” tour back in June – following a week of troubling news on the economy.

New jobless claims rose to the highest levels in six months. A July shortfall put our budget on pace to exceed an already jaw-dropping $1.47 trillion deficit this year. Foreclosures rose 9 percent from June.

These were the headlines that came as terrible news for the 14.6 million Americans looking for jobs and countless others struggling to make ends meet, and further confirmation that the administration’s “stimulus” policies have not created jobs “immediately” and held unemployment under 8 percent as the president promised. Since February 2009, our economy has lost roughly 3 million private sector jobs while the unemployment rate has grown to 9.5 percent. In Ohio, and across much of the Eighth Congressional District, the unemployment rate is a full point higher.

Unfortunately, President Obama and his team have decided it is easier to attack me and my fellow Republicans than it is to change course and scrap the failed “stimulus” policies that are hurting our economy and stifling job growth. Just last week the vice president’s chief economist went so far as to accuse me of “want[ing] a lot of people to lose their jobs” for suggesting that unspent “stimulus” dollars be returned.

Never mind that this is an idea worthy of consideration in the wake of the Strickland administration’s “Rebate-Gate,” which resulted in “stimulus” dollars being used to outsource work to El Salvador, the simple fact of the matter is that a nation in our fiscal condition should be spending less, not more. No one wants to see more job losses, which is why we must heed the advice of more than 100 economists and act immediately to cut government spending now and prevent the administration’s plans for a massive tax hike on American families and small businesses from going into effect at the end of the year.

The administration claims that these tax increases will only affect a small number of Americans, but according to an analysis by the non-partisan Committee on Joint Taxation, Congress’s official tax scorekeeper, half of small business income in America will face higher taxes under the president’s plan. The very threat of these tax hikes, combined with the new health care law and the hundreds of new rules and mandates coming out of the Obama Administration, are freezing employers with uncertainty at a time when we need them to invest in their growth.

House Republicans are listening to the Americans who are fed up with Washington Democrats’ tax-and-spend agenda and offering better solutions to help small businesses create new jobs. Over the past year we’ve presented President Obama a “no-cost” jobs plan and a proposal to immediately cut $1.3 trillion in government spending. This common-sense plan would put the nation back on a path to fiscal discipline by ending TARP, reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and enacting strict caps to limit government spending on an annual basis.

We’ve also launched an America Speaking Out project to engage every day Americans in building a new policy agenda for the nation. Already hundreds of thousands have logged on to submit their ideas and discuss other common-sense proposals to get our economy moving again.

Our economy will recover, but it will do so because of the hard work and entrepreneurship of the American people, not more wasteful Washington spending. Visit AmericaSpeakingOut.com today, and join us in building a more responsive and less costly government focused squarely on putting people back to work.

John Boehner represents Ohio’s 8th District, which includes all of Darke, Miami, and Preble counties, most of Butler and Mercer counties, and the northeastern corner of Montgomery County. He was first elected to Congress in 1990.

Tags: economy, jobs, ohio, stimulus, taxes
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Boehner on ObamaCare: Breathing is not commerce

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

KEY QUOTE: “This is the first time in American history that Congress has passed a law mandating that you buy something simply because you’re breathing. … Instead of saying and doing anything to protect this job-killing health care law, Democrats should work with Republicans to repeal it and replace it with common-sense reforms focused on lowering costs and protecting jobs.”

Boehner on ObamaCare: Breathing is not commerce
August 17, 2010
USA TODAY OPINION
By John Boehner

As if Democrats’ new health care law — with its tax hikes, higher costs, and Medicare cuts to establish a new federal entitlement and massive new bureaucracies — isn’t already intrusive enough, at its heart lies an individual mandate that forces Americans to buy government-approved health insurance or pay a tax.

This is the first time in American history that Congress has passed a law mandating that you buy something simply because you’re breathing. Don’t take my word for it: In 1994, the Congressional Budget Office called such a move an “unprecedented form of federal action.” The feds have “never required people to buy any good or service as a condition of lawful residence.”

If the federal government thinks it can get away with this kind of power grab, it will think it can do anything. In response, 21 states and the nation’s leading small business organization agree that this mandate is unconstitutional, and they are fighting to overturn it. Earlier this month, Missouri voters, to the tune of 71%, chose to reject the mandate. That’s more than decisive. That’s a landslide.

Yet the Professional Left running our government isn’t listening to Missourians or anyone else. The Obama administration is fighting to stay in the business of forcing you to buy health insurance and taxing you if you don’t. The law itself cites the power to regulate “commerce.” Democrats compare it with how nearly all states require car owners to purchase auto insurance. You don’t need to purchase a car. You do need to breathe.

With the “commerce” argument faltering, the Obama administration is now defending the mandate as a tax — in federal court, no less — a notion the president repeatedly rejected last year.

From the get-go, of course, the health care debate has been about costs, and here the mandate fails, too. As USA TODAY editorialized last fall, “The individual mandate must be accompanied by affordable insurance policies.” It is not. According to the agency that administers Medicare, the new law is unlikely to lower insurance premiums as promised.

Instead of saying and doing anything to protect this job-killing health care law, Democrats should work with Republicans to repeal it and replace it with common-sense reforms focused on lowering costs and protecting jobs.

Tags: health care
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Boehner Backed By Small Business Group

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

National Federation of Independent Business Says Boehner Is “Working to Deliver Results for Our Nation’s Job Creators”

WEST CHESTER, OHIO – Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) has earned the endorsement of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business association.

“In a time when there is a lot of focus on helping small business, some leaders just talk about it and others work to find ways to deliver on it. Congressman Boehner is one of those leaders working to deliver results for our nation’s job creators,” said Lisa Goeas, NFIB’s vice president for political operations.

In fact, to help small businesses create new jobs, Boehner has presented President Obama with a “no cost” jobs plan and several options for cutting government spending – the best way to boost the economy according to 100 economists. Boehner also backs straightforward proposals for repealing the president’s government takeover of health care and replacing it with common-sense reforms that will lower costs, and has aggressively fought the “cap and trade” national energy tax that would devastate Ohio employers and famers.

“Having run a small business, I’m honored by NFIB’s endorsement and proud to have their support,” said Boehner. “The Democrats running Washington don’t understand what it takes to meet a payroll, grow a business, or hire new workers. For more than 18 months they’ve focused more on growing government than growing the economy, and our private sector employers have paid the price. That’s why I’m committed to helping small businesses create new jobs by cutting government spending, stopping the president’s small business tax hike, and scrapping laws like ObamaCare that raise costs and create uncertainty for families and employers.”

Boehner represents Ohio’s Eighth Congressional District which includes all of Darke, Miami and Preble counties, most of Butler and Mercer counties, and the northeastern corner of Montgomery County. He also serves as Republican Leader in the United States House of Representatives.

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Boehner: Spending spree won’t fix our ailing economy

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

KEY QUOTE: “More government, fewer jobs: This isn’t the picture of recovery; it’s the epitome of failure.”

U.S. Rep John Boehner: Spending spree won’t fix our ailing economy
July 15, 2010

When President Barack Obama speaks in Holland today, I hope that instead of trying to convince the people of a city suffering from 11.8 percent unemployment that our economy is “moving forward,” he will listen closely when they ask, “Where are the jobs?”

After all, Michigan is one of 48 states that have lost jobs since Obama signed the trillion-dollar “stimulus” into law amid promises it would create jobs “immediately” and keep unemployment below 8 percent. Since February 2009, our economy has lost roughly 3 million private sector jobs while the federal government has grown by more than 400,000 jobs.

More government, fewer jobs: This isn’t the picture of recovery; it’s the epitome of failure. To boost the economy and put people back to work, we need to stop the taxing-spending-and-borrowing-binge and cut Washington waste, stop job-killing tax increases, and provide small businesses with the certainty they need to get back on their feet. Last month, I handed the president a statement signed by more than 100 economists supporting this plan of action.

• Less spending, more jobs. Washington’s spending spree has gotten so out of control that Democrats have canceled the federal budget, an unprecedented failure of leadership. House Budget Committee Republicans have already identified $1.3 trillion in specific spending cuts (like canceling unspent TARP funds) that could be implemented right now to make Washington do more with less.

• Keeping taxes low. We also need to prevent job-killing tax hikes that are set to take effect in less than six months. Unfortunately, Democrats have indicated that that they intend to raise taxes on middle-class families — by how much, they won’t say, not until after the coming election. This abdication of leadership is a job-killer in and of itself: struggling small business owners can’t save or invest without knowing how much they will owe in taxes next year.

• Helping small businesses put people back to work. Having run a small business, I know the anxiety that comes with every burdensome mandate and tax hike handed down by Washington. President Obama’s new health care law is the granddaddy of them all. Here’s an example: The new law requires businesses to file a 1099 form for each and every purchase of goods or services of $600 or more per year from another entity. While large companies can afford to hire an army of lawyers to interpret these regulations and accountants to do all the paperwork, small businesses do not have the same luxury. Republicans are fighting to repeal this government takeover of health care and replace it with common-sense reforms focused on lowering costs and protecting jobs.

Americans should join us in building a more responsive government and a better country.

Tags: economy, jobs, spending, stimulus
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Boehner: Where Are the Jobs, Mr. President?

Thursday, July 8th, 2010

KEY QUOTE: “Our economy will ultimately recover, but it will do so because of the hard work and entrepreneurship of the American people, not more wasteful Washington spending. Republicans have proposed better solutions to cut spending now, help small businesses create jobs, and get our economy back on track. Less spending, more jobs – it’s that simple.”

Where Are the Jobs, Mr. President?
By House Republican Leader John Boehner
July 8, 2010
TownHall.com

Last week, President Obama traveled all the way to Racine, Wisconsin – a city suffering from 14 percent unemployment – and used his time there to talk about me. Of course, it’s easier for the president to attack Republicans than it is to come up with new excuses for his broken promises and failing policies. For someone who asked to be held to the highest standard, President Obama spends an awful lot of time making excuses and whining about others. The American people want leadership from the White House and a serious focus on job creation, not childish partisanship.

Instead, the President and Washington Democrats are doubling down on their ‘stimulus’ policies have been an even bigger failure than most people realize. I recently released a report called “Stuck on Stimulus,” which contains some eye-opening figures: while the national unemployment rate hovers near 10 percent, African American unemployment is now 16.5 percent and Hispanic unemployment is 12.5 percent.

The ‘stimulus’ focused on expanding government, not creating private-sector jobs. In fact, since February 2009, more than three million jobs have been lost in the private sector, but more than 400,000 federal government jobs have been added. That’s not a recipe for recovery, and the American people continue to ask: “where are the jobs?”

While the rest of the world seems dialed in on the need to rein in spending and impose fiscal discipline, the spending binge from Washington Democrats continues. Rather than face facts and make tough choices, they have chosen to cling cluelessly to their discredited ‘stimulus’ philosophy and have flat-out cancelled the federal budget for the first time in modern history at a time when a fiscal blueprint has never been more badly needed.

After yet another disappointing jobs report last Friday where we learned that our economy lost 125,000 jobs in the month of June, I released a new web video challenging President Obama to focus on Americans’ priorities. The video, entitled “What About The Country, Mr. President? ,” features questions that I posed to the President regarding jobs, spending, the financial meltdown, and the Gulf oil spill.

Our economy will ultimately recover, but it will do so because of the hard work and entrepreneurship of the American people, not more wasteful Washington spending. Republicans have proposed better solutions to cut spending now, help small businesses create jobs, and get our economy back on track. Less spending, more jobs – it’s that simple.

John Boehner is the Republican Minority Leader for the House of Representatives.

Tags: jobs, spending
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Boehner: Congress, Obama, and Taxpayer Funding of Abortion

Friday, June 18th, 2010

KEY QUOTE: “The GAO report shows that the federal government provided roughly $1 billion in taxpayer funding between Fiscal Years 2002 and 2009 for organizations that promote abortion as a form of family planning. Nearly $660 million of this taxpayer funding has gone to Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider. This is an indefensible expenditure of taxpayer funds.”

Congress, Obama, and Taxpayer Funding of Abortion
John Boehner
The Corner
June 18, 2010

For years, Washington has been thumbing its nose at the American people, arrogantly defying their will by spending taxpayers’ hard-earned money in ways they oppose. Now, courtesy of a report by the independent Government Accountability Office (GAO) requested by Rep. Pete Olson (R., Texas), the American people have new information about the extent to which this Washington nose-thumbing has included hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies for the abortion industry.

The GAO report shows that the federal government provided roughly $1 billion in taxpayer funding between Fiscal Years 2002 and 2009 for organizations that promote abortion as a form of family planning. Nearly $660 million of this taxpayer funding has gone to Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider. This is an indefensible expenditure of taxpayer funds.

Sadly, federal support for abortion and the abortion industry is growing under President Obama and a Democratic Congress. Public opposition to taxpayer financing of abortion factored significantly in the intense debate over President Obama’s massive health-care overhaul. And thanks to the disingenuous way in which the White House and the Democratic congressional leadership thwarted enactment of the pro-life Stupak amendment, which would have barred taxpayer funding of abortion in Obamacare, the issue won’t be going away.

Rather than allowing the anti-abortion Stupak amendment to become law, President Obama issued an executive order purporting to eliminate the need for such an amendment. But as far as anyone can tell, the Obama administration hasn’t lifted a finger to implement the executive order, even as it forges ahead aggressively with implementation of the rest of the massive new law. I asked President Obama about this directly at the White House last week. Since then, however, there has been no communication from the White House about the status of his executive order.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans have gone to AmericaSpeakingOut.com to make their voices heard on the issue of federal support for abortion and the abortion industry. I encourage all Americans to use this tool to speak out.

I commend Representative Olson for requesting the GAO study and bringing this information into public view for the American people so they know how Congress is spending their money. I also commend our conference chairman, Rep. Mike Pence (R., Ind.), for introducing legislation that would prohibit the distribution of Title X family-planning money to entities that use abortion as a method of family planning. I have signed on as a cosponsor of Representative Pence’s bill.

I also believe we need to enact legislation to codify the Hyde amendment — authored by my friend, the late Rep. Henry Hyde (R., Ill.) — which would prohibit all taxpayer funding of abortion across the board. We must also repeal Obamacare and replace it with laws that will lower health-care costs and respect the sanctity of life.

It’s time for Congress to start listening to the people and stop forcing taxpayers to subsidize the destruction of innocent human life through abortion and organizations that promote it.

— John Boehner, a Republican from Ohio, is the minority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Tags: health care, life
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Boehner: Democrats continue their tax-and-spend agenda

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

KEY QUOTE: “It’s time to put a stop to all this wasteful government spending. Forty-three cents of every dollar the federal government spends this year, we are going to borrow, and our kids and grandkids are going to be the ones who will have to pay it back. Worse yet, this very government spending spree is holding Congress back from doing what Washington Democrats claim they want to do most: create jobs.”

Democrats continue their tax-and-spend agenda
Troy Daily News
5/19/10
John Boehner

With one in ten Americans unemployed, our nation needs a coherent, common-sense agenda to help small businesses create new jobs and curb government spending. Unfortunately, the Democrats who control Washington seem to have little interest in doing anything but spending money we don’t have to expand the size of government.

During these times of hardship, the last things middle-class families and small businesses need are new layers of bureaucracy and red tape. But that’s exactly what they’ll get from the President’s financial regulation bill that could soon pass the Senate.

That’s because the President’s proposal creates a brand new government agency, a so-called Consumer Financial Protection Agency, that will have broad authority to impose new burdensome regulations on small businesses and local banks.

In a recent letter, the National Federation of Small Business voiced its members’ opposition to this new government agency that will have power reaching far beyond Wall Street: ‘Many small business retailers and merchants – such as medical professionals, hardware, electronics, and jewelry stores – struggling through the current economic climate would be subject to these new regulations. Addressing problems in the financial services sector makes sense, but such regulations should not overreach to include small business or leave small business owners paying for the excess of companies deemed “too big to fail.”

Worse yet, the President’s plan does nothing to fix our current financial crisis, and will actually make matters worse. Washington Democrats refuse to address the root causes of our financial collapse, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government companies that sparked the financial meltdown by giving too many high-risk loans to people who couldn’t afford it.

As top Congressional Democrats continue to protect these failing government mortgage companies, Freddie Mac this week requested an additional $10.6 billion in taxpayer dollars, and warned that it will need more in the future.

Don’t look to the majority party in Congress to put an end to this out-of-control spending, however. On Thursday, House Democrats passed a ‘cash for caulkers’ weatherization bill, adding another $6.6 billion on top of the $5 billion in spending for this program in last year’s “stimulus.”

States are awash in weatherization funds, and a lot of the money that has been spent has gone to crooked contractors, shoddy work, and there are investigations going on all over the country.

In a story this week, the Columbus Dispatch notes that the number of Ohio jobs supported by the weatherization program plunged ‘drastically’ in the most recent state ’stimulus’ report, after it was discovered that contractors had inflated their employment numbers by about 1,100 jobs.

It’s time to put a stop to all this wasteful government spending. Forty-three cents of every dollar the federal government spends this year, we are going to borrow, and our kids and grandkids are going to be the ones who will have to pay it back. Worse yet, this very government spending spree is holding Congress back from doing what Washington Democrats claim they want to do most: create jobs.

Our economy will ultimately recover, but it will do so because of the hard work and entrepreneurship of the American people, not more wasteful Washington spending. Republicans are offering better solutions to the challenges our nation faces.

Our alternative financial regulation bill would end the taxpayer bailouts once and for all, and hold Wall Street, along with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, accountable for its actions. And our jobs plan would get control of government spending, while tearing down all the new taxes and regulations that are keeping small businesses today from investing and hiring.

The American people don’t want new government programs. They’re tired of watching government creep into their daily lives. The American people want Washington to enact smart, responsible, pro-growth policies to give them the tools they need to succeed through their own hard work. Republicans are listening.

John Boehner represents Ohio’s 8th District, which includes all of Darke, Miami, and Preble counties, most of Butler and Mercer counties, and the northeastern corner of Montgomery County.

Tags: jobs, spending
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Boehner on President Obama’s ‘TARP Forever’ Act

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010

KEY QUOTE: “We cannot restore confidence in our economy unless we fully address the root causes of the financial crisis and take definitive steps to ensure that taxpayers are never again forced to pick up the tab for bad bets on Wall Street. The legislation President Obama is promoting, however, does neither of these things and actually makes matters worse.”

President Obama’s ‘TARP Forever’ Act
Investor’s Business Daily
By REP. JOHN BOEHNER Posted 04/21/2010 06:12 PM ET

We cannot restore confidence in our economy unless we fully address the root causes of the financial crisis and take definitive steps to ensure that taxpayers are never again forced to pick up the tab for bad bets on Wall Street. The legislation President Obama is promoting, however, does neither of these things and actually makes matters worse.

President Obama talks a big game when it comes to Wall Street, but his newest job-killing initiative would provide the nation’s largest financial firms with permanent bailouts ordered and overseen by unelected federal bureaucrats.

Under his proposal, the largest Wall Street firms would become eligible for special treatment, including taxpayer-funded resources unavailable to smaller financial firms. These include exclusive access to a pre-existing bailout fund, a Treasury-backed line of credit and a government guarantee for any debt.

Such perks will benefit the likes of Goldman Sachs, President Obama’s top financial contributor during the 2008 campaign and a firm that just happens to be under investigation by the SEC for defrauding investors.

The decision to designate Goldman and other giant banks as “too big to fail” won’t be made by taxpayers or their elected representatives. Under the Democrats’ plan, a new “Financial Stability Oversight Council” made up of unelected federal bureaucrats — including representatives from the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve, the CFTC, the FDIC and the SEC — would have absolute power to seize any company and do whatever it wants with it.

That means Washington Democrats would force taxpayers to rely on the same government bureaucracies that were asleep at the switch the last time around. The commissioner of the SEC has warned that “there are no clear limits on the degree of government intervention that could be expected.”

This special treatment makes these large firms more attractive to investors than the smaller local banks, widening the gap between Wall Street and Main Street. Local banks will receive none of the perks of the Democrats’ permanent bailout bill while being forced to comply with all of its expensive, job-killing mandates — at the worst possible time for small businesses across America.

Of course, the large banks won’t mind having their borrowing costs permanently lowered by government intervention. That is exactly how it was with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government mortgage companies that kicked off the crisis by giving high-risk loans to people who couldn’t afford them.

Hoping to meet ambitious growth targets and reap considerable bonuses, Fannie and Freddie executives doubled down on their junk mortgage bet by investing heavily in the derivatives market, sparking a systemwide meltdown.

Tags: budget, economy, jobs, spending
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