Weekly Press Conference With House Minority Leader John Boehner
Interview
Weekly Press Conference With House Minority Leader John Boehner
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REP. BOEHNER: Good morning everyone.
With the economy still struggling, I'm pleased that families are now beginning to receive tax rebate checks, and small businesses have been provided additional tax relief to create jobs, and, frankly, maintain jobs.
And I think if the stimulus package taught Democrats anything it's that if we're going to solve big problems, we need to find ways to work together. And sadly today, Democrats' go-it-alone strategy is --- and this approach that they've taken is leaving a -- really -- a long and growing list of unresolved problems here in Congress. Whether it's FISA, the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, the looming tax hike, border security, runaway entitlement programs, wasteful earmarks, health care, or skyrocketing gas prices, really, Democrats have done nothing to work with us to address these issues. And unless we work together, the result is gridlock. And we're 16 months into this Democrat majority here in Congress, and Democrats still haven't learned that if we're really going to solve the issues the American people sent us here to solve, we've got to find ways to work together.
Two years ago, then our minority leader, Nancy Pelosi, promised the American people a commonsense plan to reduce gas prices. Well, it's two years, and we still haven't seen the commonsense plan. Gas prices have increased $1.29 over the period since she's become speaker, and I think the American people are tired of broken promises and want some relief of the gas prices that they're paying. Senator Schumer said yesterday regarding Saudi Arabia: if they would produce a half-a-million gallons -- half-a-million barrels more oil per day, the price of gasoline would come down.
Well, it's just amazing to me that Democrats can demand more oil from Saudi Arabia, but will do nothing about increased production here at home. This logic to me is just bizarre knowing that Democrats have no plan to lower gas prices. They actually want to increase them. You know, we've got Chairman Dingell wanting a 50 cents a gallon tax on gasoline to fund his climate change proposal, you've got Chairman Oberstar yesterday -- says that he wants an increase in gas taxes in order to fund infrastructure. I have to ask Speaker Pelosi, does she support increasing gas taxes as two of her chairman have called for over the course of this year. The American people don't want high gas prices. They're tired of it and Congress ought to be doing something to deal with it.
In 1995, the brand new Republican majority passed a domestic drilling bill that President Clinton vetoed. If that bill had been signed, we'd be getting today more than a million barrels of oil per day in addition to what we have today. And so, increased production is a critical part of trying to bring down the price of gasoline.
And finally, on the supplemental spending bill for our troops, it's clear that the Democrats are going to play politics with this bill once again. This bill is intended to fund our activities in Iraq and Afghanistan. And by adding all types of unrelated issues to this bill, all they're going to do is slow it down and put our troops in a position where they're not going to have what they need to win the war against the terrorists.
A lot of these issues that they're talking about adding to the bill could be moved on their own in a bipartisan way, but it appears that they're intent on a process that not only bypasses the committee process, but will spend tens of billions dollars in unrelated activity and add it to the backs of our troops in trying to move this bill. It's just -- it's a prescription for a problem. We ought to find a way to resolve these differences and take care of our troops who are in harm's way.
Q Mr. Leader, your district grows a lot of corn. A lot of debate these days about what we've done with ethanol and whether or not that is contributing to drive up food prices because so much of that is now being used for fuel versus -- I guess in the equation of the corn product overall, what is your take on that?
REP. BOEHNER: Well, there's no question that corn-based ethanol has increased the demand for corn, has taken more acres in the country into corn, but it is but a small piece of the overall increase in the cost of food. You know, there are 100 million additional people around the world than there were five years ago that, frankly, America's breadbasket is feeding. So, you've got increased demand from the additional people around the world.
And secondly, and probably even more importantly, is that when you see developing countries like India and China, as their economies begin to grow, the first thing that happens in these countries is that they want to eat better. And so when you begin to look at the demand coming from India and China and other developing countries for better diets at home, you can see that this world food shortage that we have is real. And it's not caused by just, you know, one small issue here in the United States. I'm concerned that as we get into the growing season, that if we're -- if we get into a drought of any sort in the Midwest, we're going to have a real fight over who gets the grain, who gets the corn; whether it's the cereal producers, the ethanol producers, or, frankly, the livestock producers.
Q And so what should Congress do in light of this, if we get into a drought and to mitigate stuff like that?
REP. BOEHNER: Well, given the high demand around the world, I'm not sure that there is an answer in the short-term for what we do about it.
Q You're not cutting your throat are you?
REP. BOEHNER: No.
(Laughter.)
Q There's a new Wall Street Journal poll out this morning that shows voters favor Democrats to retain control of Congress by about 15 percent. It seemed like your presentation yesterday focused a lot on the strengths of Senator McCain at the top of the ticket, but I was wondering if you could talk about what specific steps how Republicans can take to make up some of that ground in the next six months.
REP. BOEHNER: Well, I think there's several things. One is that you'll see us in the coming weeks lay out our agenda if the American people would honor us with the majority in Congress again. I think we have a commonsense plan dealing with taxes, dealing with health care, dealing with national security, and protecting America's families. And so we'll begin to outline that and the American people will see it.
Secondly, it's pretty clear that the Democrats have literally kept not one of their promises. You go back to all the rhetoric we heard in 2005 and 2006 about what the Democrats would do if they were in the majority, and you heard all the promises from open floor debate, no gimmicks in the process, and the fact is they've not kept a single promise that they made to the American people. And I think Americans are already cynical about the political process. All this does is add to more cynicism.
At the end of the day, I think that we're going to have a very good year, but we've got work to do and I intend to lead an effort on our part to get it done.
Q Just following-on to that, Mr. Leader --
REP. BOEHNER: Nice haircut, Donald, by the way --
Q Thank you very much. What do you want the Blue Dogs to do? Do you want them to vote with you on these motions to recommit and sign your discharge petition or would you rather they just say no so you can un-elect them? But how can you un-elect them if they're voting with you, as some of them are, 50 percent of the time?
REP. BOEHNER: Listen. At the end of the day, if members do the right thing for the right reasons, the right things will happen. You know, when it comes to issues like border security, we think there's a majority in Congress that want to deal with border security and enforcing our immigration laws. And clearly the Democrat majority has no interest in bringing such a bill to the floor. I believe that if we're able and continue to lean on members to sign the discharge petition, let's let the House work its will. We can go down a whole laundry list of issues that I'd just soon have the House work its will on. Members get elected to vote. They get elected to make choices. And frankly, the speaker is allowing her members to hide from the difficult choices that we as members were elected to make.
Q The Blue Dogs are with you on those things, so how can you un-elect them?
REP. BOEHNER: Bring 'em on, let's go. I'd rather succeed in finding ways to work together to address America's issues than what the mere political outcome could be.
Q On the -- (inaudible) -- do you anticipate getting the signatures you need to force a vote on that?
REP. BOEHNER: We are continuing to work our members and Democrat members. As of yesterday, I think we're at about 180 or so. And so we've got a little more work to do, but we're going to continue to find each and every member who supports this bill to put their name on the discharge petition.
Q You said there's room to have bipartisan agreement on some of the things that Democrats are talking about adding to the war bill. Is there a new -- is there any kind of room --
REP. BOEHNER: Many of those issues could move on their own.
Q Well, are you supportive of some kind of second stimulus package somewhere down the road? So far, you and other Republicans have been very reluctant, wanting to see what the first stimulus package does.
REP. BOEHNER: Well, I think that the new GI Bill, there's a way to come to a bipartisan agreement that the president would clearly sign. I think when it comes to additional steps to help the economy, let's wait and see what effect the checks have. We passed this economic growth package back in early this year. The checks are now going out. Let's see what impact it has on the economy before we run up more debt for our kids and theirs.
Q (Inaudible) -- Senator Byrd announced last night that he's going to have a markup next week. Do you think that makes it all but impossible for the House not to have a markup in the Approps. Committee?
REP. BOEHNER: Regular order is something that's critical here because the regular committee process before the bill comes to the floor is intended to flush out problems. It's intended as a process to bring people together, help everyone understand exactly what's being done and for what reasons. And when you bypass the committee process, that doesn't happen, and inevitably mistakes show up in the bill. This is -- We're the beacon of democracy in the world, and to shut down the democratic process -- a small "d" process -- here in the House, that makes no sense.
Q Have you met with -- (inaudible) -- Mr. Bush last night -- (inaudible). How close do you think things are on that, number one? Number two, what's this -- (inaudible).
REP. BOEHNER: Well, there are still a number of unresolved issues in the farm bill. And frankly, they are very important issues. Secondly, there was a discussion, and frankly, concern with the amount of reform that we see in this farm bill. I think the president has concerns about he need for more reform. I can tell you that I, as a longtime member of the Ag Committee believe there's a need for more reform in this farm bill. And then thirdly, the cost of this farm bill is starting to look like it's an $18 billion price tag over the baseline, 10 billion (dollars) of it offset with increased customs fees, but it could be as high as $8 billion in -- (inaudible). I'm reluctant to refer to it as gimmicks, but I could use that word without much problem.
(Laughter.)
Q Mr. Leader, what -- Republicans are critical of the Democrats for not really revealing their -- (inaudible) -- What's the Republican strategy? (Inaudible.) What would you do?
REP. BOEHNER: My daughter called me last night because she went to my website yesterday and she thought that I was being unfair.
(Laughter.)
I said, now, Lindsay, I didn't say two years ago that I had a commonsense plan to lower gas prices. Ms. Pelosi did. And I'm still waiting to see what that plan is. Last year when there was an energy bill, the only option we had was the motion to recommit that had additional production in it. The Democrats defeated it. Back when we were in the majority, we had an amendment to increase production in the United States. Democrats united to defeat it.
And at the end of the day, while we need to conserve more energy, we need biofuels and we need alternative fuels, we need to look seriously at nuclear energy and we have to be willing to drill in the United States in an environmentally-safe way. We just can't expect the rest of the world to supply us with our energy needs, especially when we have significant supplies of oil and gas in the United States that are available to us if we'd be willing to drill for those, again, in an environmentally sound way. I believe that we can.
Q Would that include ANWR?
REP. BOEHNER: ANWR, public lands -- BLM lands out west, the Williston Basin up in North Dakota. There are lots of areas that have significant oil and gas, but we have to be willing to drill for it.
Q Do you support the gas holiday that McCain has proposed?
REP. BOEHNER: I've been for reducing taxes since the day I got involved in politics. And as I've said about that issue, it's worthy of consideration.
Q Isn't this a chance to do something on energy prices -- (inaudible) -- with the energy policy -- (inaudible)?
REP. BOEHNER: We did. And the one big fight, if you recall, was over additional drilling in the country. Democrats united to help -- and some Republicans -- to defeat that part of the bill, and while we don't have new production. As I said, 1995 -- the Congress passed an ANWR drilling act. President Clinton vetoed it. By now, it would be producing a million barrels a day of additional oil for this market. And gasoline prices would be a lot lower as a result.
Q Are you urging John McCain to back ANWR now?
REP. BOEHNER: I think that McCain understands that if we don't increase production in the United States, we can't expect to have lower gasoline prices. It's got to be part of the mix if we're serious about this.
Thanks.
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