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Thank you, Ohio
Former Congressman John Boehner
“Today, my heart is full with gratitude to my family, my constituents
and my colleagues for giving me the opportunity to serve Ohioans in the
8th District for 25 years. I leave the people’s House as the same
person I’ve always been— just a regular guy humbled by the chance to do
a big job.
“This all started as a chase for the American Dream in a small house
with a big family in Reading, Ohio. That was where I got my first job
throwing newspapers, mopped floors at my father’s bar and learned that
Ohioans aren’t afraid to work.
“I never thought about it as coming up the easy way or the hard way. To
me, it was just the Cincinnati way.
“Our city was named after the great Roman general, Cincinnatus – a
farmer who answered the call of his nation to lead, then surrendered
his power and returned to his plow. But for me, it wasn’t a farm. It
was a small business. And it wasn’t so much a calling as it was a
mission: to strive for a smaller, less costly, and more accountable
government.
“That often meant helping constituents and local officials cut through
gridlock and navigate the bureaucratic maze in Washington to get things
done. In Hamilton, for instance, I brought together the Army Corps of
Engineers and local officials to get the Meldahl Lock and Dam power
plant off the ground. In Butler County, I worked with officials at all
levels to keep the veterans highway and Union Centre projects on track.
With the Ohio delegation, I made sure that Wright-Patterson Air Force
Base and the Springfield Air National Guard Base had the resources they
needed to support our men and women in uniform.
“It also meant listening to the tens of thousands of constituents my
office helped through casework, letters, phone calls, my open door
program, and of course, my annual Farm Forum. The stories of Ohioans
frustrated with the growing scope of government and their desire to
secure a better future for our children drove real change in Washington.
“For the first time in nearly 20 years, we made real entitlement
reforms, saving trillions over the long term. We protected 99 percent
of Americans from tax increases. Today, we are on track to save
taxpayers $2.1 trillion over the next 10 years, which is the most
significant spending reductions in modern history. And, we did it all
with no earmarks.
“I am proud of what we accomplished. None of this would have been
possible without the support of my family and the hard work of my
staff, which has been first-rate from start to finish. Together, we did
the right things for the right reasons and good things happened.
“It has been an honor. Thank you and God bless this great country.”
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