| June 27, 2009 | House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) | Permalink The
American people deserve to know what’s in the legislation their
representatives in Congress are voting on. That was the fundamental
principle behind House Republican Leader John Boehner’s (R-OH) hour-long speech
on the floor of the House last night, in which he read portions of a
300-plus page amendment Democrats added in the dark of night to Speaker
Pelosi’s already 1,200-page national energy tax legislation. The
legislation is going to raise electricity prices, increase gasoline prices, and ship American jobs overseas to countries like China and India. It also will be a bureaucratic nightmare
overseen by a confusing web of government agencies that will take and
redistribute trillions of dollars from family budgets and workers’
payrolls. Following is just a sampling of the national media’s
coverage of Boehner’s unprecedented speech – and the House GOP’s stand
against the Democrats’ costly, jobs-killing national energy tax: - Buffalo News:
"Rep. John Boehner, the House Republican leader, used an extraordinary
one-hour speech shortly before the final vote to warn of unintended
consequences in what he said was a 'defining bill.' He called it a
'bureaucratic nightmare' that would cost jobs, depress real estate
prices and put the government into parts of the economy where it now
has no role."
- Associated Press:
“‘But when you file a 300-page amendment at 3:09 a.m., the American
people have a right to know what’s in this bill,’ [Boehner] intoned.”
- Reuters:
“House Republican leader John Boehner called the measure ‘the biggest
job-killing bill that has ever been on the floor of the House of
Representatives.’”
- Washington Post:
“And then came the fili-Boehner. House tradition allows the speaker,
the majority leader and the minority leader to ignore the usual time
limits on floor speeches. So, at the end of four hours of debate,
Boehner opened a binder containing the 300-page amendment. ‘Don’t you
think the American people expect us to understand what's in this bill
before we vote on it?’ Boehner said, to cheers from Republicans. He
read numerous passages – highlighting items such as credits for Fannie
Mae-financed efficiency measures and plans for grants to study consumer
behavior on energy use – and offered critiques.”
- Politico:
“‘This is the biggest job killing bill that’s ever been on the floor of
the House of Representatives. Right here, this bill,’ said House
Minority Leader John Boehner. ‘And I don’t think that’s what the
American people want.’ Donning reading glasses, Boehner then delayed
the roll call vote by reading page-by-page through a 300-page managers’
amendment Democrats added at around 3 a.m. on Friday. Boehner seemed to
relish the hour-long stunt, picking out the bill’s most obscure
language and then pontificating about what it might – or might not –
mean. Republicans laughed along with him and roared with applause when
he was done.”
- San Francisco Chronicle:
“Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio [used] his privileges as a
leader to spend more than an hour ridiculing page after page of the
bill and delaying the final vote until well into the evening.”
- Wall Street Journal:
“House Minority Leader John Boehner lambasted the Democratic bill for
more than an hour Friday evening before the final vote. He mocked
provisions covering everything from energy-efficient loan standards for
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to the definition of ‘renewable biomass’ to
the establishment of ‘green’ banking centers. "Is there anything we're
not regulating in this bill?’ he said.”
- Dow Jones:
“Republicans warn it could cripple the economy. ‘This is a tax on
anyone who drives a car, buys an American-made product, or flips on a
light switch,’ said Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio. ‘It will
drive up energy costs and send millions of American jobs to countries
like China and India, and place a real heavy burden on rural
Americans.’”
- Fox News:
“Filibusters are not allowed in the House. They’re a province of the
Senate. But House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) may have figured
out a way to get around that prohibition Friday as the House inched
closer to voting on a controversial energy and climate change bill.
Overnight, House Democrats tacked onto the bill a 300-page amendment.
So when Boehner took his time to speak against the package at the end
of the debate, the Ohio Republican then decided to peel through major
portions of the bill and read them aloud before his House colleagues.
‘Is there anything we aren’t regulating in this bill?’ Boehner asked,
leafing through the pages. He wondered if the community group ACORN
qualified for certain grants. He asked why an energy and climate bill
was ‘trying to solve the problems with Fannie (Mae) and Freddie
(Mac).’”
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