| WASHINGTON, D.C. –
House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today delivered the weekly
Republican address. The address comes as unemployment rises while
Washington Democrats continue to pursue policies on the economy, health
care, energy, and the environment that will destroy more American jobs
and drive future generations into deeper debt. Audio of the address is
available here and video of the address will be available here once the embargo is lifted at 6am Saturday. Following is the text of Rep. Boehner’s address: “I’m
John Boehner, House Republican Leader. When I’m home in Ohio, I get an
earful about the crushing debt Washington Democrats are running up.
The President and Democrats in Congress claim this spending binge is
necessary to put Americans back to work. They promised unemployment
would not rise above eight percent if their trillion-dollar ‘stimulus’
was passed. But our nation has lost nearly three million jobs this
year. Unemployment has soared above nine percent. And now the
President admits that unemployment will soon reach double-digits.
After all of this spending, after all of this borrowing from China, the
Middle East, our children, and our grandchildren, where are the jobs? “It’s
about to get worse for middle-class families and small businesses.
Democrats are pushing a government takeover of our health care system
that will cost at least a trillion dollars. The President has
repeatedly claimed that Americans will be able to keep their doctors
under the Democrats’ plan, but the nonpartisan Congressional Budget
Office reports that at least 23 million Americans would lose their
current health coverage and their doctors. Another independent report
projects that nearly 100 million Americans may be forced onto
government rolls. “Our nation could lose an
additional 4.7 million jobs under the Democrats’ health care proposal,
based on analysis developed by White House chief economic advisor, Dr.
Christina Romer. And one million small business jobs would be lost
because of the Democrats’ costly mandates. “Small
businesses are the engine of our economy. We should help them weather
the storm and create jobs. This would be a real stimulus, but
Washington hasn’t tried it yet. Republicans have offered a plan that
encourages investment and allows families and small businesses to keep
more of what they earn to help get our economy moving again – a real
stimulus plan. “On health care, we’ve put
forward a better alternative that will reduce costs, expand access, and
increase the quality of care in a way Americans can afford – without
new taxes, costly mandates, or a government takeover that puts
bureaucrats in charge of medical decisions that should be made by
doctors and patients. “This week, the President
and Democrats on Capitol Hill continued their push for Speaker Pelosi’s
national energy tax. By imposing a tax on every American who drives a
car or flips on a light switch, this plan will drive up the prices for
food, gasoline, and electricity. Even President Obama has said that
energy prices will – quote – ‘skyrocket,’ and its consequences will be
especially severe in rural communities across our country. The
Democrats’ bill will also ship millions of jobs to competitors like
China and India. A recent study estimated it will cost us between 2.3
and 2.7 million jobs every year. “We should be
creating American jobs – not destroying them. That’s why House
Republicans have proposed a better way: an ‘all-of-the-above’ strategy
to clean up the environment, lower energy costs, and create more jobs.
Our plan will increase environmentally-safe energy production; promote
the use of alternative fuels, such as nuclear, clean-coal, and
renewable energy technologies; and encourage increased efficiency. “Republicans
are offering common-sense solutions that will make a real difference in
creating jobs, making health care more affordable, and promoting a
cleaner, healthier environment, and reducing energy costs. We hope our
Democrat colleagues will abandon their failed go-it-alone approach and
work with us to make these reforms a reality. Thanks for listening.” | 
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