Mark and I just got off the phone with Congressman Boehner, Gribbit, Justin, and Bizzy.The Congressman opened up the call with some comments on the Mother of All Tax Hikes, the Democrat's inaction on veteran and troop funding, Murtha Inc. and earmark reform.
Justin has a pretty good rundown on the opening comments and the first question, which was his, on the few Republicans on the pork list. Check out his post for details.
Gribbit did us the favor of asking about the status of the Internet Radio Equality Act, which the congressman said that he is going to have to research. That is not a good sign as I thought he was "up" on this issue already. I accept blame for that one, as I haven't been as diligent as I should in my advocacy for the bill.
Bizzy asked about the lack of a statement on the 55 consecutive months of economic expansion, a topic which he has written about here.
Justin then asked about Pakistan and the actions of one President Musharaff.
I am shocked by the actions he's taken. I am hopeful he will restore the Constitution and put Pakistan back into Democratic rule as soon as possible."I then shifted the conversation to SCHIP... Justin's post is here.
The most important thing I can relate from the discussion is that if the Democrats continue to fail to enact real reform to their proposal, there is going to have to be an extension of the funding at current levels for the program. The congressman was very confident that this would happen should the issue not be resolved before the November 16th deadline.
Congressman Boehner was quite confident that if the Democrats bring an override vote, that the Republicans would still remain firm on the issue. There has been talk that Harry Reid has asked Nancy Pelosi to NOT bring it up again.
Boehner handled the Sen. Grassley solo act question with appropriate humor and candor. Republicans and Democrats continue to negotiate on the issue. Contrary to what you may have heard from the liberal blogosphere and from the 527 media, Republicans love children and are fighting hard on their behalf. It is shameful that liberals and Democrats continue to use the issue in such a shameful manner. Perhaps this might explain the Democratic Congress' dismal approval numbers.
We are likely to cover this call, with some audio, on the TIB All-Stars show on Saturday night at 7PM...be sure to tune in for more!
