Boehner: "Tax Hikes Are Off the Table"

Statement:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – At a press conference this morning, Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) reiterated that job-crushing “tax hikes are off the table” in the debt limit talks. Boehner said Washington needs to “stop spending money we don’t have,” and outlined several GOP jobs bills aimed at removing barriers that are holding back economic growth. A link to the video and text of Boehner’s remarks are below:


Boehner: In Debt Limit Talks, Job-Crushing Tax Hikes Are Off the Table:
“Listen, we’ve got to stop spending money that we don’t have, and since the beginning, the Majority Leader and myself, along with Sen. McConnell and Sen. Kyl have been clear: tax hikes are off the table. First of all: raising taxes is going to destroy jobs. If you raise taxes on the people that we need to grow our economy and to hire new workers, guess what: they’re not going to do it if they have to pay higher taxes to the federal government. Second, a tax hike cannot pass the U.S. House of Representatives. It’s not just a bad idea, it doesn’t have the votes and it can’t happen. And third, the American people don’t want us to raise taxes. They know that we’ve got a spending problem. That’s why Republicans passed a budget that pays down debt over time without raising taxes.”

Boehner: GOP Focused on Jobs, Removing Barriers to Economic Growth:
“Yesterday, the House passed a jobs bill that would eliminate needless permit delays and expand energy production to help lower energy prices and to create jobs in our country. Today we’ll be passing another jobs bill. This one will streamline and modernize the patent process to help America’s innovators. This has been our focus all year: removing barriers that hold back job growth. Our plan is to get government out of the way and allow the private sector to do what it does best: invest and create jobs.”
 
Boehner: Democrats Don’t Have a Plan for Jobs, Want More Failed “Stimulus” Spending & Tax Hikes:
“Democrats don’t have a plan for jobs. You heard them say again yesterday: what do they want? More “stimulus” spending and higher taxes. Well, on the same day that the CBO called our debt crisis ‘daunting,’ Democrat leaders came out and asked for more spending. Now if you recall, we tried this: it’s called the ‘stimulus’ plan. And it didn’t work. At a time when millions of Americans are struggling, it’s alarming how Democrats continue to call for more spending.”
 
Boehner: Real Spending Cuts Must Exceed Any Increase in the Debt Limit:
“Now we don’t have any more time to waste. I want to reiterate that we will not agree to the president’s request to increase the debt limit without serious spending cuts and reforms to the way we spend the American people’s money. As I’ve said before, the spending cuts must be greater than any increase in the debt limit. And these have to be real spending cuts – no ‘targets’ to push this question off to the long term; no more kicking the can down the road. And the reason for this is simple: a debt limit [bill] that fails this test will hurt the economy, impede job growth by intensifying the uncertainty about our nation's ability to deal with our long-term fiscal problems.”
 
Boehner: “This is the Moment” for Washington to “Do Something Big” for Our Children & Grandchildren:
“This is the moment, folks. The fight isn’t about numbers, it’s about jobs. It’s about the future of our country. We’ve got a chance to do something big and we have that chance to do it now. For the sake of our economy, the sake for the future of our kids and grandkids, this is a chance and an opportunity that we cannot afford to allow to pass.”