Showing posts with label Rep. John Boehner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rep. John Boehner. Show all posts
Friday, January 7, 2011
Republicans Say Higher U.S. Debt Limit Depends on Specific Spending Cuts
Republicans in Congress told President Barack Obama and Democrats they will insist on specific cuts in government spending as a condition of raising the U.S. debt limit.
Any increase must be “accompanied by meaningful action by the president and Congress to cut spending and end the job- killing spending binge,” House Speaker John Boehner said in a statement yesterday after the Obama administration asked Congress to boost the debt ceiling by March 31.
Boehner, of Ohio, and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, of Wisconsin, said a default on government debts isn’t an option. Still, Ryan suggested Republicans may use the debt- ceiling issue as leverage to attach conditions that would force Obama to sign them into law or force a default.
“Republicans are not interested in just a naked debt- ceiling increase,” Ryan said at a Washington forum on economic policy. “Nobody likes brinksmanship, but what we really don’t want is runaway spending.”
Republicans “want to do something that gets us pointed in the right direction,” he said.
In a letter to congressional leaders, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the $14.29 trillion debt limit may be reached as soon as March 31, and “most likely” by May 16. The debt was incurred “during periods when both Republicans and Democrats were in control of different branches of government,” he said.
A default on government obligations by a failure to extend the borrowing authority would have “catastrophic consequences” possibly worse than the 2008 financial crisis, said Geithner. He said Obama is committed to working with both parties to put the U.S. on a “fiscally responsible path.”
Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, told reporters, “Rather than sending out scary letters, what we ought to look at is an opportunity here, on a bipartisan basis, to address spending and debt.”
As part of the Republican focus on spending cuts, the House yesterday voted to reduce its operating budget by 5 percent. The 410-13 vote imposed the reduction on all House committees and the offices of leaders and members. The resolution will save an estimated $35 million from a federal budget that exceeds $3.5 trillion.
Ryan suggested Republicans’ new House majority may seek to use the debt-ceiling matter to force Obama to sign legislation with spending conditions he might otherwise veto. An increase in the government’s borrowing authority “is not an unrelated item,” he said.
Asked whether Republican demands for spending cuts would threaten a government default, Ryan said, “It would be irresponsible if the president brings about a default of the country if he refuses to sign a bill that raises the debt- ceiling limits. That’s his choice.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, told reporters that Republicans are “threatening to shut down the government” over the debt limit, which would cause “an economic crisis.”
Ryan said Republicans are discussing their strategy for boosting the government’s borrowing authority, adding they might opt for either a one or two-year extension.
“There are different ways of doing a debt-ceiling increase that could speak to our strategy,” Ryan said.
Ryan said he holds out “some hope that there’s a shot at some actual, maybe not wholesale, fundamental” changes in the tax code.
Bloomberg
Any increase must be “accompanied by meaningful action by the president and Congress to cut spending and end the job- killing spending binge,” House Speaker John Boehner said in a statement yesterday after the Obama administration asked Congress to boost the debt ceiling by March 31.
Boehner, of Ohio, and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, of Wisconsin, said a default on government debts isn’t an option. Still, Ryan suggested Republicans may use the debt- ceiling issue as leverage to attach conditions that would force Obama to sign them into law or force a default.
“Republicans are not interested in just a naked debt- ceiling increase,” Ryan said at a Washington forum on economic policy. “Nobody likes brinksmanship, but what we really don’t want is runaway spending.”
Republicans “want to do something that gets us pointed in the right direction,” he said.
In a letter to congressional leaders, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the $14.29 trillion debt limit may be reached as soon as March 31, and “most likely” by May 16. The debt was incurred “during periods when both Republicans and Democrats were in control of different branches of government,” he said.
A default on government obligations by a failure to extend the borrowing authority would have “catastrophic consequences” possibly worse than the 2008 financial crisis, said Geithner. He said Obama is committed to working with both parties to put the U.S. on a “fiscally responsible path.”
Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, told reporters, “Rather than sending out scary letters, what we ought to look at is an opportunity here, on a bipartisan basis, to address spending and debt.”
As part of the Republican focus on spending cuts, the House yesterday voted to reduce its operating budget by 5 percent. The 410-13 vote imposed the reduction on all House committees and the offices of leaders and members. The resolution will save an estimated $35 million from a federal budget that exceeds $3.5 trillion.
Ryan suggested Republicans’ new House majority may seek to use the debt-ceiling matter to force Obama to sign legislation with spending conditions he might otherwise veto. An increase in the government’s borrowing authority “is not an unrelated item,” he said.
Asked whether Republican demands for spending cuts would threaten a government default, Ryan said, “It would be irresponsible if the president brings about a default of the country if he refuses to sign a bill that raises the debt- ceiling limits. That’s his choice.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, told reporters that Republicans are “threatening to shut down the government” over the debt limit, which would cause “an economic crisis.”
Ryan said Republicans are discussing their strategy for boosting the government’s borrowing authority, adding they might opt for either a one or two-year extension.
“There are different ways of doing a debt-ceiling increase that could speak to our strategy,” Ryan said.
Ryan said he holds out “some hope that there’s a shot at some actual, maybe not wholesale, fundamental” changes in the tax code.
Bloomberg
Friday, December 17, 2010
For Crying Out Loud
By Daniel J. Flynn/The American Spectator
House Speaker John Boehner insists his tears, like his tan, are genuine. Too bad. His election night sob story over his climb to success, followed by his 60 Minutes blubbering over schoolchildren, might be excusable if inspired by a Machiavellian streak. Alas, a lack of self-control, rather than an act to exert control over his audience, explains the teary-eyed outbursts.
Boehner's waterworks flow most frequently and famously. But his aren't the only tear ducts opening when the cameras are rolling. Senator Tom Coburn cried during his speech in favor Judge John Roberts's confirmation to the Supreme Court in 2005. Weepy behavior is bipartisan, as Senator Chuck Schumer whimpered during his introduction of Judge Sonia Sotomayor at her confirmation hearings last year. Mitt Romney choked up running for president when talking about his church admitting blacks, his father, and seeing a casket return from Iraq. America is in trouble when the behavior of its elected officials resembles that of the YouTube sensation who tearfully exhorted everyone to "Leave Britney alone! Please!"
One needn't be a stoic to find something unseemly in all this crying. Almost fifty years ago, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons counseled big girls not to cry. Today, one can't suggest so much to grown men without appearing like a troglodyte. Wussy is the new manly.
Politics merely reflects the culture, which likes its men to be like its women. Sometime after the appearance of man purses but before the pandemic of male eyebrow waxing, the culture gave the green light for guys to wail and weep. "It's okay to cry," we were told. But male icons in sports, movies, and television told us that it's not just okay to cry. It's obligatory.
Michael Jordan cried after winning his first NBA title and Tim Tebow cried after losing the SEC championship game. Get some perspective. You play a children's game. There may be no crying in baseball. Basketball and football are another story.
Joe Friday and Harry Callahan would never make it in today's Hollywood. Jerry Maguire, whose welling eyes impressed rather than repulsed the girl, seems a more iconic representation of modern manliness. He had her at hello. He lost me at boo-hoo.
In 2009, ABC presented Jason Mesnick as a catch to female contestants on The Bachelor. The indecisive, gushing Mesnick presented himself as unable to control his emotions to ABC's viewers. The man that ABC believed that women wanted turned out to be a bachelor for a reason.
Glenn Beck may or may not be a crier in real life, but he plays one on TV. Beck's weepiness has become as much a part of his shtick as Bill O'Reilly's temper or Keith Olbermann's sanctimony. When Walter Cronkite's voice cracked as he reported President Kennedy's assassination, few faulted him for his momentary betrayal of the dispassionate ethic of the anchorman. But in the news-o-tainment era, tears=ratings. Cry yourself to the bank.
Pundits who obsess over the artificiality of the tear flood miss the point. The indifference of the sincerely moved to suppress the impulse toward public emoting, and the eagerness of the phonies to release the feigned emotions, both tacitly acknowledge the benefits of being a crybaby in our society.
Proponents of crying suggest there is something unhealthy in holding back the tears. Perhaps they are on to something. Men are from Mars, not from Vulcan, after all. But why must so many men lose it so publicly? It's undignified. It can be, à la children's crocodile tears, manipulative. In leaders, it does not inspire confidence. As one might say to a couple partaking in similarly annoying public displays of affection, "Get a room!" -- the bathroom, the bedroom, the basement, wherever. Just take your crying eyes away from our eyes.
Cannot the dry eyes and the wet eyes come to a compromise? The former faction will grant that it is okay to cry, provided that the latter faction does so behind closed doors. Deal?
Thirty-nine-years ago, Maine Senator Edmund Muskie stood outside of the Manchester Union Leader and denounced the newspaper for criticizing his wife. Amid the emotionally-charged speech, and winter's flurries, reporters glimpsed moisture trailing down the presidential frontrunner's cheek. Was it melting snowflakes or tears? It didn't matter. The mere suggestion that an aspirant to lead the free world broke down during a stressful situation was enough for some to dismiss his candidacy.
In less than four decades, America has morphed from a culture that cringes at grown men bawling to one that rewards it. That's almost worth crying over.
House Speaker John Boehner insists his tears, like his tan, are genuine. Too bad. His election night sob story over his climb to success, followed by his 60 Minutes blubbering over schoolchildren, might be excusable if inspired by a Machiavellian streak. Alas, a lack of self-control, rather than an act to exert control over his audience, explains the teary-eyed outbursts.
Boehner's waterworks flow most frequently and famously. But his aren't the only tear ducts opening when the cameras are rolling. Senator Tom Coburn cried during his speech in favor Judge John Roberts's confirmation to the Supreme Court in 2005. Weepy behavior is bipartisan, as Senator Chuck Schumer whimpered during his introduction of Judge Sonia Sotomayor at her confirmation hearings last year. Mitt Romney choked up running for president when talking about his church admitting blacks, his father, and seeing a casket return from Iraq. America is in trouble when the behavior of its elected officials resembles that of the YouTube sensation who tearfully exhorted everyone to "Leave Britney alone! Please!"
One needn't be a stoic to find something unseemly in all this crying. Almost fifty years ago, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons counseled big girls not to cry. Today, one can't suggest so much to grown men without appearing like a troglodyte. Wussy is the new manly.
Politics merely reflects the culture, which likes its men to be like its women. Sometime after the appearance of man purses but before the pandemic of male eyebrow waxing, the culture gave the green light for guys to wail and weep. "It's okay to cry," we were told. But male icons in sports, movies, and television told us that it's not just okay to cry. It's obligatory.
Michael Jordan cried after winning his first NBA title and Tim Tebow cried after losing the SEC championship game. Get some perspective. You play a children's game. There may be no crying in baseball. Basketball and football are another story.
Joe Friday and Harry Callahan would never make it in today's Hollywood. Jerry Maguire, whose welling eyes impressed rather than repulsed the girl, seems a more iconic representation of modern manliness. He had her at hello. He lost me at boo-hoo.
In 2009, ABC presented Jason Mesnick as a catch to female contestants on The Bachelor. The indecisive, gushing Mesnick presented himself as unable to control his emotions to ABC's viewers. The man that ABC believed that women wanted turned out to be a bachelor for a reason.
Glenn Beck may or may not be a crier in real life, but he plays one on TV. Beck's weepiness has become as much a part of his shtick as Bill O'Reilly's temper or Keith Olbermann's sanctimony. When Walter Cronkite's voice cracked as he reported President Kennedy's assassination, few faulted him for his momentary betrayal of the dispassionate ethic of the anchorman. But in the news-o-tainment era, tears=ratings. Cry yourself to the bank.
Pundits who obsess over the artificiality of the tear flood miss the point. The indifference of the sincerely moved to suppress the impulse toward public emoting, and the eagerness of the phonies to release the feigned emotions, both tacitly acknowledge the benefits of being a crybaby in our society.
Proponents of crying suggest there is something unhealthy in holding back the tears. Perhaps they are on to something. Men are from Mars, not from Vulcan, after all. But why must so many men lose it so publicly? It's undignified. It can be, à la children's crocodile tears, manipulative. In leaders, it does not inspire confidence. As one might say to a couple partaking in similarly annoying public displays of affection, "Get a room!" -- the bathroom, the bedroom, the basement, wherever. Just take your crying eyes away from our eyes.
Cannot the dry eyes and the wet eyes come to a compromise? The former faction will grant that it is okay to cry, provided that the latter faction does so behind closed doors. Deal?
Thirty-nine-years ago, Maine Senator Edmund Muskie stood outside of the Manchester Union Leader and denounced the newspaper for criticizing his wife. Amid the emotionally-charged speech, and winter's flurries, reporters glimpsed moisture trailing down the presidential frontrunner's cheek. Was it melting snowflakes or tears? It didn't matter. The mere suggestion that an aspirant to lead the free world broke down during a stressful situation was enough for some to dismiss his candidacy.
In less than four decades, America has morphed from a culture that cringes at grown men bawling to one that rewards it. That's almost worth crying over.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Mississippi Delegation in U.S. House landing plum committee assignments
Most of the 22 House Republican freshmen-to-be selected to sit on much-coveted, A-list committees won their races with Tea Party backing.
The House Republican Steering Committee last week added the incoming members to the rosters of four powerful committees: Appropriations, Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce and Financial Services.
Speaker-to-be John Boehner (R-Ohio) and his fellow GOP leaders and representatives on the House Steering Committee ensured that members of the largest GOP freshmen class in 70 years were given spots on influential panels.
Nearly half of the new GOP spots on the House Appropriations Committee were given to incoming members.
The Steering Committee tapped four Tea Party-backed representatives-elect to serve on the powerful spending panel.
GOP Rep.-elect Alan Nunnelee (Miss.) was one of nearly a dozen candidates officially endorsed by former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. GOP Reps.-elect Steve Womack (Ark.) and Kevin Yoder (Kan.) were both endorsed by Freedom Works – the interest group closely tied to the Tea Party movement. Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ga.), elected in a special election in June 2010 and who won in the fall's regular election, will also serve on the spending panel and is an outspoken proponent for fiscal restraint.
Republicans pledged that they would make significant cuts in spending over the next two years. The GOP Conference for the 112th Congress voted to ban earmark spending last month.
Just under half of the new GOP spots on the Energy and Commerce Committee will go to incoming lawmakers.
Reps.-elect Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), David McKinley (R-W.Va.), Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) and Charlie Bass (R-N.H.) were chosen to sit on the panel that will face a heavy workload in the next Congress as incoming Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) attempts to revamp the new healthcare law and conduct oversight of the EPA.
Bass served in the House from 1995-2007. He won back the seat he held in November.
GOP lawmakers Brian Bilbray (Calif.), Bill Cassidy (La.), Brett Guthrie (Ky.), Gregg Harper (Miss.), Conference Vice-Chairwoman Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (Wash.), Pete Olson (Texas) and GOP Leadership Chairman Greg Walden (Ore.) were also added to the Energy panel.
The House Financial Services Committee, led by incoming Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), will get the largest portion of the incoming freshmen.
Ten of the twelve new GOP spots on the committee went to incoming freshmen. GOP Reps-elect Quico Canseco (Texas), Bob Dold (Ill.), Sean Duffy (Wis.), Michael Grimm (N.Y.), Nan Hayworth (N.Y.), Bill Huizenga (Mich.), Robert Hurt (Va.), Steve Stivers (Ohio), Steve Pearce (N.M.) and Michael Fitzpatrick (Pa.) were selected to sit on the panel with jurisdiction over federal monetary policy and the banking system. Pearce and Fitzpatrick served in the House in prior years.
The GOP Steering Committee will meet this week to decide the committee assignments for the rest of the House panels. They have yet to determine the ratio of Republicans to Democrats on the committees.
Read More
The House Republican Steering Committee last week added the incoming members to the rosters of four powerful committees: Appropriations, Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce and Financial Services.
Speaker-to-be John Boehner (R-Ohio) and his fellow GOP leaders and representatives on the House Steering Committee ensured that members of the largest GOP freshmen class in 70 years were given spots on influential panels.
Nearly half of the new GOP spots on the House Appropriations Committee were given to incoming members.
The Steering Committee tapped four Tea Party-backed representatives-elect to serve on the powerful spending panel.
GOP Rep.-elect Alan Nunnelee (Miss.) was one of nearly a dozen candidates officially endorsed by former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. GOP Reps.-elect Steve Womack (Ark.) and Kevin Yoder (Kan.) were both endorsed by Freedom Works – the interest group closely tied to the Tea Party movement. Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ga.), elected in a special election in June 2010 and who won in the fall's regular election, will also serve on the spending panel and is an outspoken proponent for fiscal restraint.
Republicans pledged that they would make significant cuts in spending over the next two years. The GOP Conference for the 112th Congress voted to ban earmark spending last month.
Just under half of the new GOP spots on the Energy and Commerce Committee will go to incoming lawmakers.
Reps.-elect Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), David McKinley (R-W.Va.), Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) and Charlie Bass (R-N.H.) were chosen to sit on the panel that will face a heavy workload in the next Congress as incoming Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) attempts to revamp the new healthcare law and conduct oversight of the EPA.
Bass served in the House from 1995-2007. He won back the seat he held in November.
GOP lawmakers Brian Bilbray (Calif.), Bill Cassidy (La.), Brett Guthrie (Ky.), Gregg Harper (Miss.), Conference Vice-Chairwoman Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (Wash.), Pete Olson (Texas) and GOP Leadership Chairman Greg Walden (Ore.) were also added to the Energy panel.
The House Financial Services Committee, led by incoming Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), will get the largest portion of the incoming freshmen.
Ten of the twelve new GOP spots on the committee went to incoming freshmen. GOP Reps-elect Quico Canseco (Texas), Bob Dold (Ill.), Sean Duffy (Wis.), Michael Grimm (N.Y.), Nan Hayworth (N.Y.), Bill Huizenga (Mich.), Robert Hurt (Va.), Steve Stivers (Ohio), Steve Pearce (N.M.) and Michael Fitzpatrick (Pa.) were selected to sit on the panel with jurisdiction over federal monetary policy and the banking system. Pearce and Fitzpatrick served in the House in prior years.
The GOP Steering Committee will meet this week to decide the committee assignments for the rest of the House panels. They have yet to determine the ratio of Republicans to Democrats on the committees.
Read More
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Steering panel loaded with John Boehner's allies
House Speaker-designate John Boehner has some close allies to help him potentially sway other members on a Republican panel set to pick leaders of key committees in the next Congress.
Several lawmakers close to the Ohio Republican reside on the 34-member House Republican steering committee – including Lynn Westmoreland (Ga.), who gave a speech backing Boehner to be House speaker, according to a list of steering committee members obtained by POLITICO.
Rep. Steve LaTourette is a fellow member of the Ohio delegation, while Reps. Doc Hastings (Wash.) and Tom Latham (Iowa) have long been close personal friends with Boehner as well.
Others well known to be close to Boehner on the Steering Committee include House Republican Conference Vice-Chair Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (Wash.), National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (Texas), House GOP transition team leader Greg Walden (Ore.), Mike Rogers (Mich.), and Gregg Harper (Miss.).
Boehner’s choice in contested races to head the Energy and Commerce, Appropriations and other panels is automatically worth four votes, the most of any other committee member. The next expected House majority leader, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) gets two votes, while all other members get one vote each when considering each committee race, jurisdictional challenges and potential caucus rule changes.
Shimkus, Energy and Commerce ranking member Joe Barton (Texas), Fred Upton (Mich.) and Cliff Stearns (Fla.) will give roughly 10-minute presentations to the steering committee Tuesday to give their arguments to head the energy panel, followed by a question and answer period. The steering committee will convene at 1:30 p.m. in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center.
Read more: Politico
Several lawmakers close to the Ohio Republican reside on the 34-member House Republican steering committee – including Lynn Westmoreland (Ga.), who gave a speech backing Boehner to be House speaker, according to a list of steering committee members obtained by POLITICO.
Rep. Steve LaTourette is a fellow member of the Ohio delegation, while Reps. Doc Hastings (Wash.) and Tom Latham (Iowa) have long been close personal friends with Boehner as well.
Others well known to be close to Boehner on the Steering Committee include House Republican Conference Vice-Chair Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (Wash.), National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (Texas), House GOP transition team leader Greg Walden (Ore.), Mike Rogers (Mich.), and Gregg Harper (Miss.).
Boehner’s choice in contested races to head the Energy and Commerce, Appropriations and other panels is automatically worth four votes, the most of any other committee member. The next expected House majority leader, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) gets two votes, while all other members get one vote each when considering each committee race, jurisdictional challenges and potential caucus rule changes.
Shimkus, Energy and Commerce ranking member Joe Barton (Texas), Fred Upton (Mich.) and Cliff Stearns (Fla.) will give roughly 10-minute presentations to the steering committee Tuesday to give their arguments to head the energy panel, followed by a question and answer period. The steering committee will convene at 1:30 p.m. in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center.
Read more: Politico
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