John Boehner Statement on Solicitor General Elena Kagan’s Nomination

Uploaded on March 20, 2010 by House GOP Leader All rights reserved.

GOP Leader: “Given her lack of judicial experience or time spent as a practicing lawyer, other aspects of her record must be thoroughly examined, including her troubling decision to ban United States Armed Forces recruiters from Harvard Law School.” Washington, May 10 - House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) released the following statement today on President Obama’s decision to nominate Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court:

“Supreme Court nominees undergo a rigorous examination for a reason. No other appointment in the federal government can be as powerful and as long-lasting.

“Solicitor General Kagan’s record must be scrutinized to ensure that she is dedicated to applying the law equally and impartially to all, not promoting a particular ideological agenda or legislating from the bench.

“Given her lack of judicial experience, or time spent as a practicing lawyer, other aspects of her record must be thoroughly examined, including her troubling decision to ban United States Armed Forces recruiters from Harvard Law School. As one liberal journalist wrote recently, ‘Barring the military from campus is a bit like barring the president or even the flag. It’s more than a statement of criticism; it’s a statement of national estrangement.’

“On this, and other issues – including the Constitutional questions arising from Washington Democrats’ new health care law - Solicitor General Kagan deserves a fair hearing on her qualifications, and her commitment to fairness, the rule of law, and interpreting the Constitution as written.”

NOTE: Peter Beinart, a senior political writer for The Daily Beast, an associate professor of journalism and political science at City University of New York and a senior fellow at the New America Foundation, wrote on April 19 that, “The United States military is not Procter and Gamble. It is not just another employer. It is the institution whose members risk their lives to protect the country. You can disagree with the policies of the American military; you can even hate them, but you can’t alienate yourself from the institution without in a certain sense alienating yourself from the country. Barring the military from campus is a bit like barring the president or even the flag. It’s more than a statement of criticism; it’s a statement of national estrangement.”

Mike Pence Says No More U.S. Taxpayer Dollars for European Bailouts

Latest Near $1 Trillion Bailout of Euro Comes on the Heels of Bailout for Greece

Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Congressman Mike Pence, Chairman of the House Republican Conference, issued the following statement today regarding news that the United States is being asked to participate in a near $1 trillion bailout to keep the Euro afloat. This comes on the heels of American taxpayers being forced to share in the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) bailout of Greece. The United States is the world's largest contributor to the IMF. Pence said:

"The bailout of Greece set a dangerous precedent of using American tax dollars for other European bailouts. Now Americans are waking up to the harsh reality that they may be on the hook to keep the Euro afloat as well.

"It is important for world markets that Greece and other European nations right their economic ships, but American taxpayers should not be responsible for bailing out nations that have created their own debt crises through out-of-control spending.

"With Portugal, Spain and perhaps others to follow in Greece's footsteps in the near future, this action shows the Obama Administration is headed down a dangerous path of bailing out European countries at a time when we face our own debt crisis." ###

Contact Matt Lloyd or Mary Vought at (202) 226-9000 or matt.lloyd@mail.house.gov