Pelosi, Boehner Statement on Security Breach Relating to Confidential House Materials

/PRNewswire/ -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Republican Leader John Boehner released the following statement today on a security breach relating to confidential House materials:

"In response to a recent data breach associated with the use of peer to peer applications on a non-House computer, we have directed the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer's (CAO) Information Security Department to perform an immediate and comprehensive assessment of the policies and procedures for handling sensitive data. CAO Information Security Policy prohibits the use of peer-to-peer applications on House Computers. We are working diligently to provide the highest level of data security for the House in order to ensure that the operations of House offices are secure from unauthorized access."

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Boehner Statement on White House Decision to Delay Mid-Year Budget Review

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) issued the following statement on the White House’s decision to put off its mid-year budget review, which is expected to show a historic deficit, until next month, after Congress has left Washington:

“Let’s be honest about what this is: an attempt to hide a record-breaking deficit as Democratic leaders break arms to rush through a government takeover of health care. The Congressional Budget Office confirmed last week that the Democrats’ plans will increase health care costs and add hundreds of billions to the deficit. Try as they might, the White House cannot hide the fact that the policies of this Administration have buried our children and grandchildren under historic debt. Washington Democrats are spending with reckless abandon, yet by burying this budget update until after Congress leaves town next month, the Administration is not willing to own up to the consequences of this dangerous fiscal agenda.

“All year long, Republicans have proposed better solutions to create jobs, expand access to affordable health care, curb spending, and control the debt, but Democrats instead have gone it alone and barreled ahead with an expensive, partisan agenda. Taxpayers cannot afford it, nor can future generations. It’s time for Democrats to work in a bipartisan way to get control over our budget and trust small businesses – not government here in Washington – to create jobs for the American people.”

NOTE: The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) last week estimated that the House Democrats’ government takeover of health care would increase the deficit by $239 billion over the next 10 years, while CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf warned Congress that the Democrats’ plans will drive health care costs even higher.

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Boehner Statement Thanking Veterans & Troops on July 4th

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) issued the following statement in advance of Independence Day 2009:

“Two hundred and thirty-three years ago, America’s Founding Fathers issued the Declaration of Independence. In standing against the tyranny of what was then the most powerful empire in the world, the 56 signers of that document unleashed revolutionary ideas that are affecting the course of human events to this very day. In addition to declaring a separation from Great Britain, the Founders also affirmed their belief ‘that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.’

“Today, as we celebrate America’s birth, let us also remember that the precious liberties we enjoy have been defended by many generations of patriots guided by the ‘Spirit of ’76.’ On this day, we say a grateful ‘thank you’ to all veterans and all troops serving in uniform. It is only because of their faith and sacrifice that we are free.

“Let us also remember and pray for those around the world seeking to establish the vision of the Founding Fathers: that governments derive the power ‘from the consent of the governed.’ May they one day find freedom, and may America always remain the preeminent symbol of liberty.”

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Boehner: North Korea’s Aggression Demands Strong Response, Bolsters Case for Missile Defense

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today issued the following statement in response to North Korea’s nuclear test and its test launches of short-range ballistic missiles:

“North Korea’s nuclear test and its continuing short-range ballistic missile tests demonstrate the need for a strong and coordinated response, both from the United States and the international community. We cannot allow North Korea to become a nuclear state that threatens to sell its nuclear secrets to the highest bidder. Those who think the status quo is containable and sustainable are mistaken.

“North Korea’s brazen act of aggression should strengthen our resolve for a multi-layered missile defense system, capable of protecting our nation and our allies. It is time for Democrats to come forward and support a missile defense system that will strengthen America’s national defense.

“Rewarding continual defiance with appeasement and dialogue will only provide North Korea with more time to achieve the status of a regional nuclear power. That would send the wrong message to other rogue regimes around the world. The world is waiting to see how we respond to this hostile and provocative act.”

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Show Us the Evidence, Ms. Pelosi

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Boehner on the Democrats’ National Energy Tax: “The Wrong Thing to Do and the Worst Possible Time to Do It”

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today released the following statement after House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) released a discussion draft of the Democrats’ national “cap-and-trade” energy tax legislation, which is similar to the plan included in the President Obama’s budget:


“The Democrats’ plan to raise energy taxes in the midst of a serious recession is the wrong thing to do and the worst possible time to do it. Families and small businesses are struggling to get by, and this proposal, like the President’s budget, would raise taxes on every American who drives a car, flips on a light switch, or buys a product manufactured in the United States. It would cost every family as much as $3,100 a year in additional energy costs, and will drive millions of good-paying American jobs overseas.

“In my district, for example, there is steel manufacturer called AK Steel. If they are forced to pay this new energy tax – while competitors in places like India, China, and Mexico are not – their costs will skyrocket, and their customers will simply buy cheaper imported steel. That’s a recipe for shipping more good-paying American manufacturing jobs overseas, and that’s simply unacceptable. Democrats should shelve this national energy tax and work with Republicans to enact policies that will truly help get our economy moving again.”

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House Republican Leader Boehner Says CMS Policies on Home Oxygen Therapy Will 'Potentially Harm' Care Available to Medicare Beneficiaries

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) urged CMS to reconsider policies governing Medicare's payment of emergency services, supplies, and other obligations after 36 months of service. The Boehner letter comes on the heels of a letter signed by 123 members of the House expressing concern over the same policies.

Citing lack of payments for maintenance and services post-36 months, Rep. Boehner said, "Not only does this policy potentially harm the current care that many Medicare beneficiaries are receiving, but oxygen providers may be forced to make difficult decisions and reduce services that these beneficiaries and their physicians traditionally rely upon."

In the March 18th letter, Rep. Boehner calls attention to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) policies that require home oxygen providers to provide, without any payment, unscheduled service and maintenance visits, 24-hour emergency care, equipment repairs and oxygen supplies for two years following the 36-month rental cap. The CMS policies also require the original oxygen provider to ensure the provision of these services even when a beneficiary moves to a part of the country where the provider does not operate.

Applauding the Republican Leader's attention to this issue, Chairman of the Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC) Peter Kelly said, "We praise Congressman Boehner for standing up for home oxygen patients and providers across the country." CQRC is a coalition of leading home oxygen therapy providers and manufacturers who care for nearly one half of the 1.5 million Medicare home oxygen beneficiaries. "We, too, have urged CMS to use its authority to make payments for services and supplies required by beneficiaries for the entire length of their medical need."

On January 1, 2009, massive cuts to the Medicare home oxygen benefit, in the form of a 36-month cap enacted by Congress in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA), took effect, sending a slow but growing tidal wave of change throughout the provider community. In addressing the implementation of the 36-month cap policy, CMS issued a regulation that home oxygen providers will no longer receive Medicare payment for patient-generated, non-routine emergency visits or needed oxygen supplies, such as oxygen tubing and masks, once a beneficiary reaches the three year mark. These CMS-developed policies came at a time when the home oxygen benefit was also subject to a payment cap and an additional 9.5 percent across the board cut. The collective impact of these policies equals a 27 percent cut, totaling $845 million this year alone.

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Sticker Shock: Washington Dems Reeling After CBO Report Shows President's Budget Is $2.3 Trillion More Costly Than White House Claimed

Washington Democrats are still reeling after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported last Friday that the President’s budget is actually $2.3 TRILLION more costly than the White House initially claimed. Overall, the budget will produce an incredible $9.3 trillion in total deficits over the next 10 years – and who pays? Our children and grandchildren. Is it any wonder why Republicans have consistently been warning that this monstrous budget spends, taxes, and BORROWS too much? And Republicans are not alone. Economists, taxpayer watchdog groups, and newspapers across America have sounded the alarm on the Administration’s reckless budget path as well. Here’s what the Washington Post said about the President’s plan in an editorial published yesterday:

“Mr. Obama should treat the CBO report as an incentive to fulfill his repeated promises, during and after the campaign, to make hard choices on the budget. Until now he has offered a host of new spending – on health care, middle-class tax cuts, education and alternative energy – without calling for much sacrifice from anyone except the top 5 percent of the income scale. Though his emphasis on controlling health-care costs is welcome, it’s not a substitute for reforming the entitlement programs that are the drivers of long-term fiscal crisis, Medicare and Social Security. Yet the president has offered no plan for either and no road map even for achieving a plan. Several members of his own party in the Senate have been expressing doubts about his strategy, and the CBO report will lend credibility to their concerns. He should heed them.”

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) reacted similarly after the CBO rocked the Administration with its deficit report last Friday, saying, “This report should serve as the wake-up call this Administration needs. We simply cannot continue to mortgage our children and grandchildren’s future to pay for bigger and more costly government.”

Later today, the President will continue his campaign-like sales job of his budget when he will continue pressing for a massive national energy tax that’s at the heart of the proposal – a tax that will cost American families up to $3,100 per year. The Associated Press reports this morning that, “President Barack Obama’s aides say the administration will work with Congress on his budget proposal, but energy independence is not subject to wheeling and dealing.” In other words, the White House is prepared to fight for its energy tax hike.

Middle-class families and small businesses are struggling during this recession – their job security is diminished, their savings are evaporating, and their costs of living are soaring. Do they really deserve to be hit with higher energy bills – to the tune of up to $3,100 increase per year – thanks to the President’s budget?

Republicans don’t think so, and that’s why they will be offering a better budget solution in the days to come. In response to the President’s request last week for budget ideas from both parties, Boehner released a web video in which he outlined for the President the GOP principles for a better budget. The GOP budget alternative will:

- Help create and protect jobs by letting families and small businesses keep more of what they earn.

- Ensure the federal budget doesn’t grow faster than family budgets.

- Aim to expand access to affordable health care for every American, while preserving Social Security and Medicare for future generations.

- End the bailouts to protect taxpayers and reform the financial system so this crisis never repeats itself.

- Encourage an “all of the above” energy strategy that harnesses new technologies, encourages greater conservation and efficiency, and increases American energy production in an environmentally-safe manner – without imposing a national energy tax.

- Fight inflation so the prices of goods and services Americans depend on every day remain stable during and after this economic crisis.

As the House Budget Committee prepares to debate the President’s budget blueprint, it is clearer than ever that it spends too much, taxes too much, and borrows too much. House Republicans are prepared to offer a better way. Are Washington Democrats prepared to join them?

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Boehner Responds to President’s Request for Bipartisan Budget Proposals

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today released a video responding to President Obama’s request yesterday for bipartisan budget proposals. In the video, which was transmitted to the White House this morning, Boehner respectfully informs the President that his budget spends too much, taxes too much, and borrows too much; makes clear that Republicans will offer a superior alternative, as Republicans did during the “stimulus” debate in January; and outlines the GOP principles for a better budget. A transcript of Boehner’s message to President Obama follows:

“Families and small businesses across America are hurting, and they’re counting on both parties in Washington to provide real solutions to help create jobs and end this recession. Mr. President, you’ve submitted your budget, and we appreciate you seeking input from Republicans on how it can be improved.

“As you’ll recall, our Republican Whip Eric Cantor and I personally delivered to you our Republican stimulus alternative during a White House meeting. Unfortunately, that plan was rejected by Washington Democrats, even though it would have created 6.2 million jobs according to an economic model developed by your own advisor, Dr. Christina Romer. That’s twice the jobs at half the cost of the trillion-dollar spending bill you ultimately signed into law.

“Republicans are eager to offer better solutions on the budget as well. Mr. President, with all due respect: your budget spends too much, taxes too much, and borrows too much, and that’s going to do further harm to our economy at a time when it desperately needs our help.

“We believe there’s a better way – better solutions to restore some fiscal sanity here in Washington while encouraging more job creation and more investment. Our alternative, which is being drafted as we speak by Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and others, will reflect core principles that should guide us as our nation works to emerge from this crisis stronger than ever.

“First, our budget alternative will help create and protect jobs by letting families and small businesses keep more of what they earn.

“Second, our budget will make sure the federal budget doesn’t grow faster than family budgets. Americans are making tough spending decisions every day. It’s time for Washington to do the same.

“Third, our budget will aim to expand access to affordable health care for every American, while preserving Social Security and Medicare for future generations.

“Fourth, our budget will end the bailouts to protect taxpayers and reform the financial system so this crisis never repeats itself. Instead of raising energy costs through a “cap and trade” energy tax that will cost every family up to $3,100 a year, our budget will encourage an “all of the above” energy strategy that harnesses new technologies, encourages greater conservation and efficiency, and increases American energy production in an environmentally-safe manner.

“And last but not least, our budget will fight inflation so the prices of goods and services Americans depend on every day remain stable during and after this economic crisis.

“Mr. President, we appreciate the opportunity to answer your call for bipartisan input by sharing our Republican budget solutions. Republicans are eager to offer our alternative when the debate continues in Congress later this month. It’s time for both parties in Washington to work together to tackle the challenges confronting our nation – and we shouldn’t wait a moment longer to start.”

NOTE: In remarks on the budget at the White House yesterday, President Obama said, “The answers don’t have to be partisan, and I welcome and encourage proposals and improvements from both Democrats and Republicans in the coming days.”

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Boehner Statement on President Obama’s FY 2010 Budget

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today released the following statement on President Obama’s FY 2010 budget blueprint:

“Republicans want to work with the President and Democrats in Congress on a responsible budget that helps our economy recover without piling more debt on future generations. But this budget makes clear that the era of big government is back, and Democrats want you to pay for it. Middle-class families and small businesses are making sacrifices when it comes to their own budget, and it’s time for Washington to do the same. Instead, this budget taxes, spends, and borrows its way toward a bigger, more costly federal government at the expense of small businesses, family farms, middle-class families, retirees, every American who owns a 401(k), and anyone who flips on a light switch.”

BOEHNER ON INCREASING TAXES DURING A RECESSION:

“Increasing taxes during a recession would be disastrous for the economy. Herbert Hoover tried it, and we all know where that led. While some may spin this as higher taxes for ‘the rich,’ the fact is, it will hit everyone – from small businesses and family farms to retirees and anyone who turns on a light switch. It will also deliver a sharp blow to charities at a time when they are hurting during the economic downturn. This will kill more American jobs and lead to an even longer, deeper recession.”

BOEHNER ON THE BUDGET’S RECORD $1.75 TRILLION DEFICIT:

“We simply cannot afford to mortgage our children and grandchildren’s future to pay for this big government spending spree. While the White House talks about a deficit it ‘inherited,’ the fact is, this budget takes credit for a decline in the deficit that will happen anyway. How much of the deficit damage ‘inherited’ by the White House has been done in the past month? More than $1 trillion, and raising taxes during a recession is no way to pay for this spending spree.”

BOEHNER ON THE MASSIVE TAX HIKE TO CREATE NEW HEALTH CARE “RESERVE FUND”:

“Republicans and Democrats need to work together to expand access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans, but increasing taxes during an economic recession, especially on small businesses, is not a responsible way to accomplish this goal.”

BOEHNER ON THE “CAP AND TRADE” TAX INCREASE ON ENERGY CONSUMERS:

“‘Cap-and-trade’ is code for increasing taxes, killing American jobs, and raising energy costs for consumers. Middle-class families are struggling during this recession, and the last thing they need is even higher costs of living and weaker job security, which is exactly what ‘cap-and-trade’ would deliver.”

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Boehner: Secret Ballot Protection Act Preserves Right to Privacy in the Workplace

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) yesterday released the following statement on the introduction of the Secret Ballot Protection Act, legislation he is co-sponsoring to preserve workers’ right to a secret ballot union election in the workplace:

“Middle-class families across this nation are struggling. With costs of living rising and job security diminishing for far too many Americans, the basic privacy rights of many workers today are under assault and in danger of being taken away. Yet, that is precisely what many Democrats in Congress and their special-interest allies are aiming to do.

“Make no mistake, workers must have the right to unionize, but they should be free to do so without intimidation and coercion from either union officials or company management. The Secret Ballot Protection Act preserves that right at a time when American workers and their families need it most. It says that no one – not unions, not companies – can deny workers the right to a secret ballot.

“Few rights are more fundamental to our American democracy than the right to a secret ballot election. I thank Reps. Kline, McKeon, and Price for introducing this legislation to safeguard that right for American workers. House Republicans will continue to fight attempts by powerful special interests to end the critical right to privacy in the workplace.”

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Boehner Warns Raising Taxes in a Recession Will Hurt Economy, Destroy Jobs

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) yesterday issued the following statement reacting to media reports that President Obama's budget proposal will increase taxes on families and small businesses during a recession, and rely heavily on military spending cuts at a time when America is fighting a war against international terrorism and radical jihadism:

“Back in November, I urged then-President-elect Obama to take tax hikes off the table, warning that raising taxes in a recession will further hurt the economy and endanger jobs. I’m very concerned by reports that raising taxes on families and small businesses in a recession will be the centerpiece of the President’s first budget. I’m also troubled by reports that the budget relies heavily on military spending cuts, which could jeopardize our troops and their ability to complete their missions safely and successfully.

“Raising taxes on families and small businesses in a recession will do further damage to the economy, discouraging families from working and threatening the very jobs the President wants to help our economy create. Americans are wise enough to know that the additional money being taken out of their paychecks will not go to deficit reduction; in the hands of Democratic congressional leaders, it will be squandered on inefficient government programs and wasteful pork-barrel projects. It happened two weeks ago, and is slated to happen again this week as Democratic congressional leaders rush to the floor legislation that includes the largest discretionary spending hike since Jimmy Carter.

“Stopping out-of-control spending here in Washington, not increasing taxes on families and small businesses or endangering our troops and their mission, is the responsible way to tackle the deficit.”

NOTE: In a November 23, 2008 appearance on Fox News Sunday, Boehner urged then-President-elect Obama not to raise taxes during the recession, asking host Chris Wallace, “If we want to create jobs now and we want to create certainty now, why wouldn’t we lower taxes? And, if we really want to help the economy, why wouldn’t we have the President-Elect say, ‘I’m not going to raise taxes on any American my first two years in office?’”

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