Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) released the following statement today in support of the President's speech on the U.S. economy:
"I applaud the President for his efforts to keep our economy strong and for working with Republicans in Congress to help American workers keep more of their own money. Republican pro-growth policies have helped businesses create more than seven million new family-wage jobs over the last three years alone. The economy is growing at a brisk 3.5 percent rate, producing a surging stock market that is increasing the value of Americans' pensions and retirement savings plans each and every day. More Americans have been able to purchase their first house because inflation and interest rates remain low. And more working families are benefiting from the fastest wage growth in more than five years
"To keep our economy growing and make it stronger, Congress must balance the budget and promote fiscal responsibility. I strongly support the President's goals of reducing earmarks and passing the line-item veto to crack down on worthless pork. I believe we can meet the President's call to balance the budget within five years without raising taxes. Data released last week by the Congressional Budget Office confirmed the tax cuts of 2003 boosted federal revenues by 68 percent. It also confirmed that the deficit fell to $172 billion in 2007, a $74 billion reduction from its previous reduction late last year. Raising taxes or imposing new costs on American families and businesses would slow economic growth and represent a significant setback to our efforts to balance the budget.
"Republicans want to help working Americans hold down their cost of living, and on that point we can do better. We can do more to reduce America 's dependence on foreign energy and we can do more to help the 46 million Americans without health insurance. A stronger education system is essential to the long-term health of the American economy, and that's why we should help make higher education more affordable and strengthen K-12 education by allowing low-income parents with children in underachieving public schools to send their children to private schools. We will strengthen our economy by addressing health care, education, and high energy costs, and we hope the Democrats will work with us to enact bold solutions to address them."
