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Congressman
John Boehner...
GOP
Stands Ready to Work with Dems
Need Fiscally-Responsible Path Forward
on Jobs, Payroll Tax Cut Extension
December 2, 2011
WASHINGTON,
D.C. – At his weekly press
conference, Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) reiterated that
Republicans stand ready to work with Democrats to extend the payroll
tax break
and unemployment insurance, but reaffirmed that it must be done in a
fiscally-responsible way to protect Social Security and avoid
compounding the
crippling debt problems facing our nation.
Congressman Boehner also highlighted House
action on three additional
jobs bills this week, and urged President Obama to call on Senate
Democrats to
act on these, and more than 20 other bipartisan, House-passed jobs
bills awaiting
action. Following
are video and text of
Congressman Boehner’s remarks:
BOEHNER:
REPUBLICANS READY TO WORK
WITH THE PRESIDENT TO FIND COMMON GROUND ON JOBS, PAYROLL TAX BREAK
EXTENSION:
“Republicans
told the president back
in September that we are ready to work with him to find common ground
on jobs,
including an extension of the payroll tax cut and extending
unemployment
insurance. And that
offer still
stands. The key
question is: how do we
pay for it?
“When
the president used a joint
session of Congress in September to announce his plan, he promised the
American
people that every penny would be paid for – including the extension of
the
payroll tax break. And
Democrats in
Congress have also conceded that it should be paid for.”
BOEHNER:
PAYROLL TAX BREAK MUST BE
PAID FOR TO PROTECT SOCIAL SECURITY:
“It’s
important that the payroll tax
cut be paid for because that money is used to fund the Social Security
Trust
Fund, which is already facing imminent bankruptcy.
Unlike other taxes, the payroll tax is used
to fund Social Security. As
such, the
revenues that the payroll tax generates are already dedicated to a
specific
purpose. Revenue
collected via the
payroll tax finances benefits for current and future retirees. And any drop in revenue
resulting from a
temporary reduction in the payroll tax that is not paid for will harm
the
Social Security Trust Fund and accelerate the program’s looming
bankruptcy.
“So
Republicans agree that we need to
focus on jobs, but we need to do it in a way that doesn’t harm Social
Security
or add more to the country’s already large deficit.
Americans know we can’t get our economy
moving and create jobs without dealing with Washington’s out-of-control
spending. Republicans
are ready to work
with the President and the Democrats to extend the payroll tax cut and
unemployment insurance temporarily, but they must be offset with
spending cuts
elsewhere.”
BOEHNER:
HOUSE HAS PASSED MORE THAN 20
JOBS BILLS THAT ARE STUCK IN THE DEMOCRATIC-CONTROLLED SENATE:
“This
week, Republicans are taking
several more steps in order to help create jobs and boost our economy. The House will pass three
additional jobs
bills to help create a better environment for private-sector job
creation. This is
in addition to the 20 bills that we
already have sitting over in the United States Senate. Our plan to help
America’s job creators – we’ve got some of these enacted into law
through both
chambers, but there’s 20 bills sitting over in the United States
Senate.”
BOEHNER:
PRESIDENT OBAMA SHOULD CALL
ON SENATE DEMOCRATS TO VOTE ON BIPARTISAN, HOUSE-PASSED JOBS BILLS:
“And
I would urge the president to call on
the Senate to allow votes on these bipartisan bills, and ensure that
they
receive a fair vote in the Senate.
So we
hope the president will put his partisan politics aside and urge the
Senate to
move these bipartisan bills as quickly as possible.”
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