Redstate

Posted at 10:05pm on Oct. 4, 2007 House Republicans & Taxpayer Groups Rally for Stronger Earmark Reforms

By Congressman John Boehner

House Republicans joined forces this afternoon with Americans for Prosperity, National Taxpayers Union, and Citizens Against Government Waste for a great rally in support of stronger earmark reforms. [UPDATED: For photos of this event, click here.]

The latest survey by The Winston Group, a DC-based firm, shows the American people overwhelmingly support the House Republican position on earmark reform. The survey, taken last week with 1,000 registered voters, shows an incredible 78 percent of Americans believe Congress should require ALL taxpayer-funded earmarks to be publicly disclosed and debated before they become law, even if it would cause significant delays in passing important bills.

That’s exactly what we’re fighting for and it’s exactly what top Democrats are blocking. Rep. Jack Murtha (D-PA) even told a reporter “tough [expletive]” when asked whether taxpayers had the right to expect real transparency and accountability in how Congress spends their money.

Read on . . .

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Posted at 9:55am on May 2, 2007 We Need a Clean Troop Funding Bill, and We Need It Now

By Congressman John Boehner

House Republicans will have no trouble sustaining the President’s veto of a Democratic bill that shamefully ties critical troop funding to a series of arbitrary conditions and timelines, not to mention billions in unrelated spending. And while Democrats are now toying with idea of rationing support for our troops in the short-term while they find another way to force a withdrawal, that won’t work either. What we need is a clean bill – an up or down vote on giving our troops the resources they need to succeed.

For the benefit of those who think “supporting the troops” means choking off their resources and undermining their mission, here is a brief primer on what a clean bill should look like.

First of all, a clean bill will not tie troop funding to a surrender date. Democrats repeatedly say the war in Iraq is “lost” and make the peculiar argument that America should instead “go after the terrorists where they are.” They should listen to their House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) who has admitted al Qaeda has a “very significant presence” in Iraq. He’s right – al Qaeda’s presence in Iraq is real and it is deadly, and it is foolish to think that withdrawing would somehow diminish the threat it poses.

Read on . . .

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Posted at 11:30am on Apr. 5, 2007 Mr. President, Veto This Bill

By Congressman John Boehner

Democrats in Congress are evidently guided by a belief that skating on thin ice is better than skating on no ice at all. They insist on sending the White House a troop funding bill loaded with billions for completely unrelated pork barrel projects. American combat troops are now being used to grease the skids for spinach growers, citrus producers, tropical fish breeders, and the peanut industry. How proud my Democratic friends must be.

Can someone please explain why a quarter-billion dollars for the Milk Income Loss Contract Program belongs in a funding bill for troops under fire in Iraq and Afghanistan?

Democratic leaders are so brazen—or callous?—as to brag about their vote buying on national television. When asked by NBC’s Meet the Press host Tim Russert why his party piled billions in pork projects on such a serious bill, Way & Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-NY) last Sunday said, “Because we needed the votes.”

Please do keep reading . . .

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