Jeb Hensarling response to President Obama’s speech calling on our ally Israel to reinstate its 1967 borders is a deeply wrong-minded

WASHINGTON – House Republican Conference Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) issued the following statement today in response to President Obama’s speech at the State Department on U.S. policy in the Middle East and North Africa.

“I’m pleased to hear the President articulate the United States’ longstanding support for the democratic rights of all people, especially those currently risking so much for democratic reform in the midst of the ongoing ’Arab Spring.’ However, calling on our ally Israel to reinstate its 1967 borders is a deeply wrong-minded approach that ignores the obvious reality beneath the problems that persist in that conflict—namely the Palestinian Authority’s dangerous alignment with Hamas.

“I'm particularly astounded that as the President implores Congress to raise the debt ceiling to its highest level in history, he offers $1 billion in debt relief to the Egyptians and a new infrastructure fund to benefit them without offering any way to pay for either. When it comes to spending money we don't have, the President is clearly out of touch with reality and the American people.” ###

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Jeb Hensarling Statement on House Vote to Defund NPR H.R. 1076

WASHINGTON – House Republican Conference Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) issued the following statement today after the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1076 Bill Text 112th Congress (2011-2012) H.RES.174.RH, a bill that, if enacted, would prohibit federal funding for National Public Radio (NPR) as a way to reduce job-destroying spending. “Republicans fully understand that to bolster job growth today and avert national bankruptcy tomorrow, the federal government must stop spending money that it doesn’t have. This especially applies to government programs that are particularly defective or wasteful. That is why the House voted today to ban federal funding for National Public Radio.

“Government has no business in the news business. Even NPR’s own former fundraising executive recently admitted that the organization ‘would be better off in the long run without federal funding.’

“NPR is widely recognized as a partisan media outlet that has long served as a platform for decidedly left-leaning programming and commentary. This is a highly objectionable trait for an organization that is funded by American taxpayers. Thanks to today’s House vote, we are one step closer to ensuring that will no longer be the case.

“America’s spending-driven debt crisis demands serious leadership that will take action to put the nation back on a fiscally sustainable course for the future. At a time when we are borrowing 42 cents on every dollar, much of it from the Chinese, today’s vote to defund NPR is a small but significant step to ending Washington’s culture of spending so that economic confidence can be restored and Americans can go back to work.”

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FULL TEXT in PDF FORMAT Bill Text 112th Congress (2011-2012) H.RES.174.RH,

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Jeb Hensarling Weekly Republican Address TEXT PODCAST VIDEO 02/05/11

Podcast of the address: Download MP3 for PODCAST || FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT BELOW. || VIDEO DOWNLOAD MPEG File || MP4 File ||

Weekly Republican Address: Chairman Hensarling Highlights House Majority’s Commitment to Creating a Better Environment for Job Growth Washington (Feb 4)

Delivering the Weekly Republican Address, House Republican Conference Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) highlights the new majority’s commitment to creating a better environment for job growth by ending Washington’s spending binge and reducing uncertainty for those who create jobs. Chairman Hensarling highlights the steps the new majority has already taken to cut spending and grow the economy, and reiterates that there is no limit to the amount of spending Republicans are willing to cut. Chairman Hensarling is in his fifth term representing Texas’ Fifth Congressional District.

“Hi, I’m Congressman Jeb Hensarling of Texas, and I serve as Chairman of the House Republican Conference. “Now down here in Texas, we have a saying: ‘when you’re digging a deep hole for yourself, stop digging.’

“Now this isn’t a rule the powers-that-be in Washington have been willing to follow, and because of that American workers are clearly paying the price.

“Under President Obama’s economic policies, we’ve seen not only our first, but our second trillion dollar deficit in our nation’s history, and we are well on our way to our third.

“These deficits are unsustainable and unconscionable. They add uncertainty to our economy. They weaken confidence in our government. And they keep job-creating investment on the sidelines.

“Now to help get our economy back to creating jobs, we need to end the spending binge in Washington and get government out of the way. We need to stop the digging. That’s what history tells us, it’s what economists tell us, and that’s what the American people are demanding.

“Instead of working with us to cut spending though, President Obama has asked Congress to yet again increase the debt limit. Now no one wants America to default on its debt.

“But if the President wants our help to pay off his debts, he’s going to have to begin the process of cutting up the credit cards. In other words, we need major spending cuts and major spending reforms.

“Unfortunately, instead of committing to these cuts and reforms, the President has called for – are you ready for this – even more ‘stimulus’ spending, as ineffective as it’s been.

“Now, you’ve probably heard the President talk about cutting spending, but what he’s really after is savings to pay for more quote-unquote ‘investments’ in yet even more ‘stimulus’ programs.

“You know, my questions for the President are these: Mr. President, how does spending us down the road to national bankruptcy help us ‘win the future’? And Mr. President, how does borrowing even more money from the Chinese make us more competitive?

“After two years, it’s pretty clear we can’t borrow, spend, and bail out our way to economic prosperity. No nation can. So while I appreciate the President’s ‘can-do’ rhetoric, his job-destroying policies won’t do, and that’s what matters most to American families.

“Now the new House majority is listening to the people and taking a responsible approach to cutting spending and growing our economy. Here’s what we’ve done since going to work on behalf of the American people just one month ago today:

“We voted to reduce the deficit by $700 billion and to reduce spending by more than $2.6 trillion by repealing the job-destroying health care law. This week, our Republican colleagues in the Senate kept their promise to fight for repeal.

“We voted to save taxpayers $617 million by ending taxpayer funding for political candidates and conventions.

“We banned Congressional earmarks and cut our own budget by five percent, because you’ve got to lead by example.

“We’ve changed the culture of the House by now holding weekly 'YouCut' votes to actually cut spending and eliminate wasteful government programs.

“And this month, we will put forward a continuing budget resolution that outlines billions of dollars in spending cuts because we pledged to cut spending back to the pre-’stimulus,’ pre-bailout levels.

“In order to get Americans back to work and create jobs, there is no limit to the amount of spending that we’re going to be willing to cut.

“Of course, Americans know you don’t simply ‘win’ the future, you’ve got to plan for it.

“And that’s what makes this issue so important. Washington’s spending binge isn’t just hurting our workers, it’s threatening our children’s future as well.

“We’ve reached a tipping point where we are firmly on the course to be the first generation in America’s history to leave the next generation with less freedom and a lower standard of living. In other words, loss of the American Dream.

“It doesn’t have to be this way. If we are principled, if we are courageous and smart, together we can preserve the torch of liberty for our children and our grandchildren and they will have a brighter future.

“Thank you for listening.”

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Congressman Jeb Hensarling Weekly Republican Address 02/06/10 VIDEO FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT

Congressman Jeb Hensarling Weekly Republican Address 02/06/10 VIDEO FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT Remarks by Rep. Jeb Hensarling, as provided by the Republican National Committee

Hi, I’m Congressman Jeb Hensarling of Texas; I serve as the number two Republican on the House Budget Committee.

Some of you may have seen me on television last week when I had the opportunity to ask the President if his new budget would once again triple the national debt and dramatically increase the cost of government to 25 percent of the economy – up from its traditional 20 percent.

You may recall that the President declined to answer the question last week. But he has certainly answered it this week by submitting a new budget that does exactly what I feared.

The numbers in his budget are simply breathtaking: a record $3.8 trillion in spending, more than $2 trillion in new job crushing taxes, not to mention a tripling of the national debt – on top of the largest deficit in our nation’s history. Interest payments alone on this debt will set us back roughly $6 trillion over the next decade – that’s about $50,000 per household.

Now, you’re probably like me and believe, in America, you ought to work hard today, so your children can have a better, more prosperous tomorrow. But with this budget, it is like Washington has said, ‘let’s let government live easier today, so our children have to work harder tomorrow.’

You know, it was about this same time last year, President Obama and Democrats in Congress promised that if we passed their trillion-dollar ‘stimulus’ bill – and grew big government even more – that jobs would be created ‘immediately,’ they said unemployment would remain below eight percent.

Well, Republicans stood on principle and offered a better alternative that, according to an analysis developed by the President’s own economic advisors, would have created twice the jobs at half the cost. But, Democrats chose to go it alone and jam through their ‘stimulus.’

What did the American people get? A bill for $1.2 trillion and three million more jobs lost.

Americans are still asking, ‘where are the jobs?’ but all they are getting from Washington is more spending, more taxes, more debt and more bailouts.

Now, when it comes to budget matters, I usually find myself agreeing with about 80 percent of what the President says, but I disagree with 80 percent of what he does.

While the President’s budget rhetoric gives a nod to reducing the deficit, he punts the problem to a ‘commission’ that does not yet exist, and whose recommendations may never see the light of day. We have to do better.

Additionally, President Obama’s proposed spending freeze unfortunately is not really a freeze at all. It exempts 86 percent of the federal budget from the freezer, doesn’t turn on the freezer until next year and then turns it off shortly thereafter.

In fact, when you run the numbers, the President’s idea of fiscal responsibility unfortunately amounts to choosing to grow government by 49.01 percent over 10 years instead of 49.27 percent. We have got to do better.

Serious fiscal responsibility requires more than just tinkering around the margins. Republicans have proposed adopting strict budget caps that limit federal spending on an annual basis and are enforceable by the President. These caps were a critical plank in the fiscally-responsible budget alternative Republicans proposed last year and yet they are noticeably absent from the President’s budget.

The federal budget must never be allowed to grow faster than the family’s budget ability to pay for it. You can learn more about our better Republican budget solutions on the web at solutions.GOP.gov.

So, you pile up all this Democrat spending, all their borrowing, all their debt, you add it to their government takeover of health care, their ‘cap-and-trade’ national energy tax and their continued bailouts – is it little wonder that job growth is lagging in our economy? Small business owners and investors tell me every week, ‘We’re not taking the risk to start or expand a business in this climate.’

We cannot continue on this reckless path, and the American people know it. But now it’s up to Democrats in Washington to listen and change course. We’re willing to work with them, but we will continue to stand on principle, we will oppose more reckless Washington spending, and we will fight for better solutions that make government live within its means. Our budget plan will help create jobs, prevent a fiscal calamity and give our children a brighter economic future. Thank you for listening. ####