GOP Leader Discusses Health Care, The GOP’s Chances Of Winning The House, The House’s Call for an Ethics Investigation, and Importing Terrorists Into The U.S.
In an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union, House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) said that Republicans are doing everything in their power to stop the Democrats’ government takeover of health care. Boehner noted that the Democrats’ 2,700-page health care bill, with $500 billion in tax increases and $500 billion in Medicare cuts, has been soundly rejected by the American people. Boehner also discussed the 2010 political environment and Republicans’ chances of winning the House in November. Regarding ethics, Boehner again reinforced that an investigation of what House Democratic leaders and members of their respective staffs knew about the allegations against former Rep. Eric Massa is necessary. Lastly, Boehner discussed the Congress’ opposition to the Obama Administration’s decision to close the Guantanamo Bay prison and import terrorists into the United States. Following are excerpts.
BOEHNER ON GOP EFFORTS TO STOP THE DEMOCRATS’ GOV’T TAKEOVER OF HEALTH CARE:
“I’m doing everything I can to prevent this bill from becoming law. Plain and simple. We’ve offered our ideas. We’ve asked the President to sit down and work with us. They’ve refused all the way through the process. … Well, they had the summit. We’ve offered our ideas and took a couple of Republican bread crumbs and put them on top of their 2,700-page bill. That’s not good enough. And so, what I’m doing is that I’m working with my colleagues to get the American people engaged in this fight. I don’t have enough votes on my side of the aisle to stop the bill. But I, along with the majority of the American people who are opposed to this, can stop this bill. And we’re going to do everything we can to make it difficult for them, if not impossible, to pass this bill.”
BOEHNER ON TAX HIKES AND MEDICARE CUTS IN THE DEMS’ 2,700-PAGE GOV’T TAKEOVER OF HEALTH CARE:
“We could come to an agreement on probably eight or 10 commonsense steps that you outlined to make our health care system better. But we can’t come to an agreement on eight or 10 things and throw them into a 2,700-page bill and ask my colleagues to vote for $500 billion worth of Medicare cuts – that aren’t going back into saving Medicare, they are going to come out of Medicare in order to pay for this new entitlement program. $500 billion in higher taxes at a time when we’re asking Americans to reinvest in the economy, but no, the government wants to create this new entitlement program.”
BOEHNER ON DEMS STRUGGLING TO PASS A BILL THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAVE ALREADY REJECTED:
“The only bipartisanship that is involved in this town right now with regard to health care, is that there’s bipartisan opposition to what they are attempting to do. … If she had 216 votes in the House, this bill would be long gone. And remember, they tried to do this thing in June and July last year, if they had the votes then, it’d be law. They tried to pass it in September, October, November, December, January, February, guess what? They don’t have the votes. The American people don’t want to take this step toward government-run health insurance. It’s a dangerous step because we do have the best health care system in the world.”
BOEHNER ON THE GOP PROSPECTS OF WINNING THE MAJORITY IN THE HOUSE:
“There’s no question that the Democrats have a huge outside organization that pumps hundreds of millions of dollars into the political process outside of the campaign finance rules. But I can tell you this; we’ve got more candidates than we’ve ever had. We’ve got better candidates than we’ve ever had. We’ve got a better process of helping to grow candidates and grow campaigns than we’ve ever had. No question that we’re going to get outspent in this election. But I think that we have a chance at winning Republican control of the House, and I’m going to do everything I can to see that it happens. … Listen, it’s a steep climb but it’s doable”
BOEHNER ON ENGAGING AMERICANS WHO ARE INVOLVED IN THE TEA PARTY MOVEMENT:
“When it comes to the Tea Party folks, I think our job to listen to them. I’m going to listen to them, I’m going to walk with them, and do everything I can to interest them in working with us to bring about a smaller, less costly, and more accountable government here in Washington.”
BOEHNER ON WHY A FULL ETHICS COMMITTEE INVESTIGATION OF DEMOCRATIC LEADERS ABOUT THE MASSA ALLEGATIONS IS NECESSARY:
“We’ve seen the trust breakdown between the American people and their Congress. And it’s been clear to me for some time that we have to work here in this institution to rebuild those bonds of trust. And when things like this happen, those who are responsible ought to be held accountable. And in the case of the Member himself, he has resigned. But it’s also pretty clear that there are a lot of people – including some Democrat leaders on the other side – who were, in fact, informed of this. … I don’t know what the answers are. All I’m asking for is the Ethics Committee is to get to the bottom of – what did people know, when did they know about it, and what did they do about it?”
“Listen, when I took over as Leader a little over two years ago, I told my colleagues that I was going to hold them to a higher standard. The American people have every right to expect that highest ethical standards from their elected officials. And it’s in that pursuit, that I think that this investigation is warranted. I don’t know what the outcome is going to be. But I think that the American people deserve the answers and I think the Congress deserves the answers. ”
BOEHNER ON CLOSING GITMO AND WHETHER THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION WILL IMPORT TERRORISTS INTO THE U.S.:
“Well, no they’re not. They keep saying they are. But they want $500 million from this Congress to rehabilitate this prison in Northwest Illinois. I want to see who the members are that are going to vote for this. I wouldn’t vote for this if you put a gun to my head. … I think we have a world-class facility at Guantanamo. I think it’s the appropriate place to hold these prisoners, and they can do the tribunals right there at Guantanamo. There is no reason to bring these terrorists into the United States, no reason to increase the threat level here because they’re here and their friends might want to come. It makes no sense to me. And I don’t think that the Congress will appropriate one dime to move those prisoners from Guantanamo to the United States.”
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