From the office of House Speaker John Boehner:
President Obama’s “fiscal cliff” is a good example of how his policies have “buried” the middle class during his administration (in VP Biden’s words). Here’s a closer look at the “fiscal cliff,” and other ways families and job creators have been “buried” over the last few years:
- BURIED BY THE FISCAL CLIFF : The president’s “fiscal cliff” includes tax hikes that will destroy 700,000 jobs and a defense ‘sequester’ that will hollow out our national security. The Republican-led House voted to stop all of the tax hikes and to replace the ‘sequester’ with common-sense spending cuts and reforms. But President Obama hasn’t acted, and Senate Democrats have threatened to drive us over the “fiscal cliff.”
- BURIED BY THE HEALTH CARE LAW : “76% of small businesses say the health care bill makes it harder to hire more employees,” according to a recent survey. The House voted to fully repeal the president’s health care law, and has successfully repealed several slush funds and provisions that hurt small businesses.
- BURIED BY HIGH ENERGY COSTS : With gas prices doubling on President Obama’s watch, the same number of small business owners – 76 percent – says, “higher energy prices threaten their business.” The House has passed several bills expanding energy production and stopping policies that drive up prices, including the Stop the War on Coal Act. Unfortunately, these bills remain stuck in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
- BURIED BY RECORD DEBT : More than four-fifths of small business owners say the $16 trillion debt is affecting job growth. Speaker John Boehner said the House has already begun “the process of reforming our tax code, reducing spending, saving Medicare, and reforming other critical programs that are heading toward bankruptcy” to address our debt. Senate Democrats haven’t passed a budget in more than three years.
- BURIED BY THE PRESIDENT’S LACK OF LEADERSHIP : Senate Democrats haven’t acted on 39 House-passed jobs bills and President Obama hasn’t urged them to do so. “President Obama’s failure to lead spells more uncertainty at a time when Americans can least afford it,” said Speaker Boehner. Boehner says, “Middle-class families deserve a president who will get Washington moving on solutions that bring jobs home, clear the cloud of debt, and foster long-term economic growth.”
While the White House is burying families and small businesses in higher taxes, more red tape, and record debt, the House of Representatives is working to keep its Pledge to America to remove government barriers to job growth and strengthen our economy. Learn more here.
