House Republicans reportedly have begun preparing for the Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling on the constitutionality of the federal health reform law. On Tuesday, the House Republican leadership in a small closed meeting discussed “major options,” and on Wednesday Boehner told rank-and-file members, “When the court rules, we’ll be ready.”

Several individuals familiar with the meetings said that if the overhaul is upheld, GOP leaders plan to continue efforts to remove provisions including the individual mandate and requirements that employers provide coverage or face penalties. If the law is partially or fully repealed, Republicans plan to offer bills to keep popular provisions in place, such as allowing adult children to remain on their parents’ health plans until age 26 and providing coverage for people with pre-existing conditions (California Healthline, 5/17).

GOP In-Fighting Over Health Reform

Within hours of his meeting with House Republicans on Wednesday, a group of Republican leadership staffers, health policy staffers and conservative activists “blasted” Boehner over plans to retain popular provisions of the overhaul, Politico reports.

According to Politico, the group created a private Google email group called “The Repeal Coalition” in which they expressed concern about a shift in the GOP leadership’s approach to handling the health reform law after the Supreme Court issues its ruling.

Wesley Denton, an aide to Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), wrote, “Should we change the name of this [listserv] to ‘partialrepealcoalition’ or ‘someofobamacareisprettygood’?” In a separate exchange, Russ Vought — a former House Republican staffer, who now works at Heritage Action for America — wrote that the “House GOP is going to cave after winning an election on full repeal … and before winning the next election to finish the job.” He added, “Unreal.”

According to Politico, the “behind-the-scenes fight … richly illustrates why House GOP leadership is so cautious, sensitive and calculating when it comes to dealing with the conservative right” (Politico, 5/17).

Boehner Clarifies GOP Stance; King Echoes Call for Full Repeal

In a blog post on Thursday, Boehner said that “[a]nything short of [a full repeal of the health reform law] is unacceptable” (Baker, “Healthwatch,” The Hill, 5/17).

He noted, “[House Republicans] voted to fully repeal the president’s health care law as one of our first acts as a new House majority, and our plan remains to repeal the law in its entirety.” He added that the only way to boost the troubled economy is a full repeal of the law (National Journal, 5/17).

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) — a leading House Republican critic of the law — on Thursday echoed Boehner’s call for a full repeal of the law. In comments during an appearance on C-SPAN, King expressed concern “that there might be some people in the House [who] would repeal what they might call the most egregious aspects of ObamaCare, [but] leave some of those aspects that seem to have some support,” adding, “My position is very strong — I will fight that. I want all of it pulled out by the roots” (“Healthwatch,” The Hill, 5/17).

 Next Article

Reader Comments:

• 1
• 05/19/2012
• Theresa BrownGold

The GOP is starting to feel reality. If the ACA falls and the GOP takes power, they will find themselves in a tight spot like the lawmakers in Alabama.

The Republican state leadership in AL are talking about a temporary worker program because the farmers’ crops go unharvested. So much for the toughest immigration law in the country. It backfired.

So it will go with healthcare if the GOP tosses Obamacare. Their actions will hasten wholesale change quicker.

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Article source: http://www.californiahealthline.org/articles/2012/5/18/boehner-house-gop-is-committed-to-repeal-of-health-reform-law.aspx

Current correspondent Jacki Schechner joins Cenk to talk about the GOP’s backup plan in hope that the Supreme Court strikes down the Affordable Care Act. But “Boehner-care” was immediately considered too controversial, so Republicans backtracked and said if the ACA is repealed, they’ll introduce their “vision” for health care reform.

“Not an actual plan, but a unicorn-and-fairy-dust vision,” Schechner says. Cenk says, “Because what we needed was more Republican visions.”

Article source: http://current.com/shows/the-young-turks/videos/gop-quickly-replaces-boehner-care-back-up-health-care-plan-to-be-used-if-affordable-care-act-gets-repealed-with-a-vision

Article source: http://bonerplan.com/2012/05/18/gop-quickly-replaces-boehner-care-back-up-health-care-plan-to/

MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — As congressional leaders prepare to meet with President Obama at the White House on Wednesday, House Speaker John Boehner said he will urge the president to put forward his own ideas to deal with a range of economic obstacles staring down lawmakers later this year.

“It’s time for us to deal with the big issues that are affecting our country and our society,” Boehner, R-Ohio, said at a news conference Wednesday morning on Capitol Hill.  “We’ve spent enough time playing small ball.”

Closed-door negotiations to reach a “grand bargain” between Obama and Boehner to deal with the debt and the deficit failed last year, but the problems have not gone away.  Congress is expected to raise the debt ceiling sometime after the November election.

Boehner, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will all join Obama for a meeting in the president’s private dining room on Wednesday to discuss their legislative priorities.

The speaker told reporters that he will push the president to present his own alternatives to extend the current tax rates, replace the defense sequester and rein in the country’s debt.

“Where is the president’s plan to tackle our looming debt crisis?” Boehner asked.  “Where’s the president’s plan to stop the largest tax increase in American history from occurring on Jan. 1?  Where is the president’s plan to replace these indiscriminate cuts to our military, which will devastate their ability to keep America secure?”

Despite ratcheting up the rhetoric that’s critical of the president over the past month, such as complaining that Obama has diminished the office of the presidency, the speaker said he expects a productive conversation with the president.

“It’s not a personal issue.  The president and I, as you well know, we get along fine,” he said.  “But he has issues with what I believe and frankly I’ve had some issues about what he believes in.”

Boehner said that the debt crisis “is standing in the way of a lot of employers hiring new people” because “no one knows what the tax rates are going to be in January,” when numerous provisions are set to expire.

“[The tax code] causes business people and investors to sit on their hands because the picture is uncertain, and then when it comes to what’s going to happen to our military with these cuts in January, you can imagine that there are a lot of people concerned,” the speaker said.  “The defense secretary has made clear that these cuts will devastate our ability to keep our country safe.  The White House has admitted that these cuts will have a devastating impact on our military, so where is their plan?  It’s as simple as that.”

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Tuesday vowed to only raise the debt ceiling if President Obama and Democrats agree to an greater amount of spending cuts and entitlement reforms.

Boehner also promised that no tax hikes would be a part of the package, and laid out plans for a fast-track process to guarantee tax reform would take place in 2013.

“This will give Congress time to work on broad-based tax reform that lowers rates for individuals and businesses while closing deductions, credits, and special carve-outs,” Boehner said.

Boehner made the remarks in a politically charged address at the Peterson Institute in Washington on a day where the debate over the nation’s fiscal health dominated D.C.

The speech included several shots at Obama, whom Boehner said lacked the “courage” to lead on fiscal issues.

Democrats and officials in the Obama administration fired back, with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner warning that Boehner should not play games with the debt ceiling.

“We hope they do it without the drama and the pain and the damage they caused the country last July,” he said of Congress’s role in the upcoming negotiations on raising the debt ceiling.

Treasury has said the ceiling will likely be hit this year, but that the department has the tools to buy time so that a hike to the ceiling could be put off until next year. The Bush tax rates are set to expire at the end of 2012, and automatic spending cuts from last year’s debt-ceiling deal are scheduled to be implemented in January 2013. This has been described by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke as a “fiscal cliff” that threatens the economy.

Boehner previously has promised that the House would vote to stop all of the Bush tax rates from expiring at the end of the year. On Tuesday, he said this legislation would also “establish an expedited process by which Congress would enact real tax reform in 2013.”

He said the Ways and Means Committee is busy working out the details of the plan.

“The bottom line is, if we do this right, this will be the last time we ever have to confront the uncertainty of expiring tax rates. We’ll have replaced the broken status quo with a tax code that maintains progressivity, taxes income once and creates a fairer, simpler code,” Boehner said.

The Speaker said Washington had no choice but to act, and highlighted his own business background to make the argument.

“Having run a business, I know that failing to plan is planning to fail,” Boehner said. “The real pain comes from doing nothing … ‘austerity’ is what will become necessary if we do nothing now. We’ll wake up one day without a choice in the matter.”

Boehner and Obama held personal talks last year on a grand bargain deficit-cutting plan that unnerved members of both parties. Boehner on Tuesday put the blame on their failure solely on Obama.

“I believe President Obama cares about this country and knows what the right thing to do is. But knowing what’s right and doing what’s right are different things,” Boehner said.

“The difference between knowing what’s right and doing what’s right is courage, and the president, I’m sorry to say, lost his.”

Boehner said the two were on the verge of a deal that would have reduced deficits by trillions last summer by “strengthening entitlement programs and reforming the tax code with permanently lower rates for all.”

But he said Obama lost his nerve because of Senate Democrats, whom Boehner said wanted to push for tax hikes.

“When the president saw his former colleagues in the Senate getting ready to press for tax hikes, he lost his nerve,” Boehner said. “The political temptation was too great. He moved the goalposts, changed his stance, and demanded tax hikes.”

Boehner promised that Republicans in Congress would act on the debt ceiling and
expiring Bush-era tax cuts before the election in November.

“Sometime after the election, the federal government will near the statutory debt limit.
This end-of-the-year pileup, commonly called the ‘fiscal cliff,’ is a chance for us to bid farewell — permanently — to the era of so-called ‘timely, temporary and targeted’ short-term government intervention,” Boehner said.

“Previous Congresses have encountered lesser precipices with lower stakes, and made a beeline for the closest lame-duck escape hatch. Let me put your mind at ease. This Congress will not follow that path — not if I have anything to do with it,” he continued.

Boehner insisted he’s ready to take up the challenge of dealing with difficult issues, even in the midst of a highly charged election year.

‘If we have leaders with the courage to make tough choices and the vision to pursue a future paved with growth, then we can heal our economy and again be the example for all to follow.

“I’m ready, and I’ve been ready. I’m not angling for higher office. This is the last position in government I will hold. I haven’t come this far to walk away,” Boehner said.

—This story was updated at 4:30 p.m.

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Article source: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/227511-boehner-lays-out-fiscal-plan-knocks-obama-for-lack-of-courage

Article source: http://bonerplan.com/2012/05/16/john-boehner-lays-out-fiscal-plan-knocks-obama-for-lack-of-courage/

Article source: http://bonerplan.com/2012/05/17/john-boehner-lays-out-fiscal-plan-knocks-obama-for/

Article source: http://bonerplan.com/2012/05/18/john-boehner-lays-out-fiscal-plan-knocks-obama-for-boner-plan/

“Not an actual plan, but a unicorn-and-fairy-dust vision,” Schechner says. Cenk says, “Because what we needed was more Republican visions.”

Article source: http://current.com/shows/the-young-turks/videos/gop-quickly-replaces-boehner-care-back-up-health-care-plan-to-be-used-if-affordable-care-act-gets-repealed-with-a-vision

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Tuesday vowed to only raise the debt ceiling if President Obama and Democrats agree to an greater amount of spending cuts and entitlement reforms.

Boehner also promised that no tax hikes would be a part of the package, and laid out plans for a fast-track process to guarantee tax reform would take place in 2013.

“This will give Congress time to work on broad-based tax reform that lowers rates for individuals and businesses while closing deductions, credits, and special carve-outs,” Boehner said.

Boehner made the remarks in a politically charged address at the Peterson Institute in Washington on a day where the debate over the nation’s fiscal health dominated D.C.

The speech included several shots at Obama, whom Boehner said lacked the “courage” to lead on fiscal issues.

Democrats and officials in the Obama administration fired back, with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner warning that Boehner should not play games with the debt ceiling.

“We hope they do it without the drama and the pain and the damage they caused the country last July,” he said of Congress’s role in the upcoming negotiations on raising the debt ceiling.

Treasury has said the ceiling will likely be hit this year, but that the department has the tools to buy time so that a hike to the ceiling could be put off until next year. The Bush tax rates are set to expire at the end of 2012, and automatic spending cuts from last year’s debt-ceiling deal are scheduled to be implemented in January 2013. This has been described by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke as a “fiscal cliff” that threatens the economy.

Boehner previously has promised that the House would vote to stop all of the Bush tax rates from expiring at the end of the year. On Tuesday, he said this legislation would also “establish an expedited process by which Congress would enact real tax reform in 2013.”

He said the Ways and Means Committee is busy working out the details of the plan.

“The bottom line is, if we do this right, this will be the last time we ever have to confront the uncertainty of expiring tax rates. We’ll have replaced the broken status quo with a tax code that maintains progressivity, taxes income once and creates a fairer, simpler code,” Boehner said.

The Speaker said Washington had no choice but to act, and highlighted his own business background to make the argument.

“Having run a business, I know that failing to plan is planning to fail,” Boehner said. “The real pain comes from doing nothing … ‘austerity’ is what will become necessary if we do nothing now. We’ll wake up one day without a choice in the matter.”

Boehner and Obama held personal talks last year on a grand bargain deficit-cutting plan that unnerved members of both parties. Boehner on Tuesday put the blame on their failure solely on Obama.

“I believe President Obama cares about this country and knows what the right thing to do is. But knowing what’s right and doing what’s right are different things,” Boehner said.

“The difference between knowing what’s right and doing what’s right is courage, and the president, I’m sorry to say, lost his.”

Boehner said the two were on the verge of a deal that would have reduced deficits by trillions last summer by “strengthening entitlement programs and reforming the tax code with permanently lower rates for all.”

But he said Obama lost his nerve because of Senate Democrats, whom Boehner said wanted to push for tax hikes.

“When the president saw his former colleagues in the Senate getting ready to press for tax hikes, he lost his nerve,” Boehner said. “The political temptation was too great. He moved the goalposts, changed his stance, and demanded tax hikes.”

Boehner promised that Republicans in Congress would act on the debt ceiling and
expiring Bush-era tax cuts before the election in November.

“Sometime after the election, the federal government will near the statutory debt limit.
This end-of-the-year pileup, commonly called the ‘fiscal cliff,’ is a chance for us to bid farewell — permanently — to the era of so-called ‘timely, temporary and targeted’ short-term government intervention,” Boehner said.

“Previous Congresses have encountered lesser precipices with lower stakes, and made a beeline for the closest lame-duck escape hatch. Let me put your mind at ease. This Congress will not follow that path — not if I have anything to do with it,” he continued.

Boehner insisted he’s ready to take up the challenge of dealing with difficult issues, even in the midst of a highly charged election year.

‘If we have leaders with the courage to make tough choices and the vision to pursue a future paved with growth, then we can heal our economy and again be the example for all to follow.

“I’m ready, and I’ve been ready. I’m not angling for higher office. This is the last position in government I will hold. I haven’t come this far to walk away,” Boehner said.

—This story was updated at 4:30 p.m.

back to top

Article source: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/227511-boehner-lays-out-fiscal-plan-knocks-obama-for-lack-of-courage

Article source: http://bonerplan.com/2012/05/16/john-boehner-lays-out-fiscal-plan-knocks-obama-for-lack-of-courage/

Article source: http://bonerplan.com/2012/05/17/john-boehner-lays-out-fiscal-plan-knocks-obama-for/

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Boehner Pushes Obama For Fiscal Plan In WH Meeting

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said that, during a Wednesday meeting at the White House, he would be urging President Obama to introduce his own proposals to deal with a looming sequester and end-of-the-year tax increases.

“Where’s the president’s plan to tackle our looming debt crisis? Where’s the president’s plan to stop the largest tax increase in American history from occurring on January 1? Where’s the president’s plan to replace these indiscriminate cuts to our military, which will devastate their ability to keep America secure?” Boehner said when asked what he and Obama would talk about during their meeting.

The White House meeting between Obama, Boehner, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) revolved mainly around the “to-do” list the president sent to Congress.

But Boehner has labeled that plan political “gimmickry.”

“It’s time for us to deal with the big issues that are affecting our country and our society,” Boehner said. “We’ve spent enough time playing small ball.”

This article was updated at 1:45 p.m.

Article source: http://www.talkradionews.com/congress/2012/05/16/boehner-to-push-obama-for-fiscal-plan-in-wh-meeting.html

Article source: http://bonerplan.com/2012/05/17/boehner-to-push-obama-for-fiscal-plan-in-wh-meeting/

Article source: http://bonerplan.com/2012/05/17/boehner-to-push-obama-for-fiscal-plan-in-wh-meeting-boner-plan/

MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — As congressional leaders prepare to meet with President Obama at the White House on Wednesday, House Speaker John Boehner said he will urge the president to put forward his own ideas to deal with a range of economic obstacles staring down lawmakers later this year.

“It’s time for us to deal with the big issues that are affecting our country and our society,” Boehner, R-Ohio, said at a news conference Wednesday morning on Capitol Hill.  “We’ve spent enough time playing small ball.”

Closed-door negotiations to reach a “grand bargain” between Obama and Boehner to deal with the debt and the deficit failed last year, but the problems have not gone away.  Congress is expected to raise the debt ceiling sometime after the November election.

Boehner, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will all join Obama for a meeting in the president’s private dining room on Wednesday to discuss their legislative priorities.

The speaker told reporters that he will push the president to present his own alternatives to extend the current tax rates, replace the defense sequester and rein in the country’s debt.

“Where is the president’s plan to tackle our looming debt crisis?” Boehner asked.  “Where’s the president’s plan to stop the largest tax increase in American history from occurring on Jan. 1?  Where is the president’s plan to replace these indiscriminate cuts to our military, which will devastate their ability to keep America secure?”

Despite ratcheting up the rhetoric that’s critical of the president over the past month, such as complaining that Obama has diminished the office of the presidency, the speaker said he expects a productive conversation with the president.

“It’s not a personal issue.  The president and I, as you well know, we get along fine,” he said.  “But he has issues with what I believe and frankly I’ve had some issues about what he believes in.”

Boehner said that the debt crisis “is standing in the way of a lot of employers hiring new people” because “no one knows what the tax rates are going to be in January,” when numerous provisions are set to expire.

“[The tax code] causes business people and investors to sit on their hands because the picture is uncertain, and then when it comes to what’s going to happen to our military with these cuts in January, you can imagine that there are a lot of people concerned,” the speaker said.  “The defense secretary has made clear that these cuts will devastate our ability to keep our country safe.  The White House has admitted that these cuts will have a devastating impact on our military, so where is their plan?  It’s as simple as that.”

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

Article source: http://www.wbobradio.com/2012/05/16/boehner-presses-obama-for-presidential-plan-to-avert-fiscal-crisis/

Article source: http://bonerplan.com/2012/05/17/boehner-presses-obama-for-presidential-plan-to-avert-fiscal-crisis/

Article source: http://bonerplan.com/2012/05/17/boehner-presses-obama-for-presidential-plan-to-avert/

Boehner: WH Plan For Clean Debt Limit Hike Not A Credible Solution

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) says that a White House plan to raise the debt ceiling without any offsetting spending cuts “is just not credible.” (0:27)

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Article source: http://www.talkradionews.com/audio/2012/05/17/boehner-wh-plan-for-clean-debt-limit-hike-not-a-credible-solution.html

MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — As congressional leaders prepare to meet with President Obama at the White House on Wednesday, House Speaker John Boehner said he will urge the president to put forward his own ideas to deal with a range of economic obstacles staring down lawmakers later this year.

“It’s time for us to deal with the big issues that are affecting our country and our society,” Boehner, R-Ohio, said at a news conference Wednesday morning on Capitol Hill.  “We’ve spent enough time playing small ball.”

Closed-door negotiations to reach a “grand bargain” between Obama and Boehner to deal with the debt and the deficit failed last year, but the problems have not gone away.  Congress is expected to raise the debt ceiling sometime after the November election.

Boehner, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will all join Obama for a meeting in the president’s private dining room on Wednesday to discuss their legislative priorities.

The speaker told reporters that he will push the president to present his own alternatives to extend the current tax rates, replace the defense sequester and rein in the country’s debt.

“Where is the president’s plan to tackle our looming debt crisis?” Boehner asked.  “Where’s the president’s plan to stop the largest tax increase in American history from occurring on Jan. 1?  Where is the president’s plan to replace these indiscriminate cuts to our military, which will devastate their ability to keep America secure?”

Despite ratcheting up the rhetoric that’s critical of the president over the past month, such as complaining that Obama has diminished the office of the presidency, the speaker said he expects a productive conversation with the president.

“It’s not a personal issue.  The president and I, as you well know, we get along fine,” he said.  “But he has issues with what I believe and frankly I’ve had some issues about what he believes in.”

Boehner said that the debt crisis “is standing in the way of a lot of employers hiring new people” because “no one knows what the tax rates are going to be in January,” when numerous provisions are set to expire.

“[The tax code] causes business people and investors to sit on their hands because the picture is uncertain, and then when it comes to what’s going to happen to our military with these cuts in January, you can imagine that there are a lot of people concerned,” the speaker said.  “The defense secretary has made clear that these cuts will devastate our ability to keep our country safe.  The White House has admitted that these cuts will have a devastating impact on our military, so where is their plan?  It’s as simple as that.”

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

Article source: http://www.wbobradio.com/2012/05/16/boehner-presses-obama-for-presidential-plan-to-avert-fiscal-crisis/

Article source: http://bonerplan.com/2012/05/17/boehner-presses-obama-for-presidential-plan-to-avert-fiscal-crisis/