Credibility Gap

Floor Speech

Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, we are seeing a growing credibility gap here in Washington. Democrats are saying one thing and doing something else. It started with the trillion dollar stimulus plan that was rushed through with promises that it would create jobs immediately and keep unemployment below 8 percent. Today unemployment is near 10 percent, and Americans are still asking, ``Where are the jobs?'' Americans were also promised a war on deficits, but all that's happened is we have piled more debt on the backs of our kids and grandkids.

Then we have the trillion dollar government takeover of health care that was forced through with promises that it would lower costs. But it turns out the new law will actually increase costs for taxpayers and patients. This comes from an analysis by the Obama administration's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. CMS determined that the new law will increase what the Nation spends on health care over the next 10 years by $311 billion. The President claimed that this government takeover of health care was the single most important thing that we can do to address our deficits. But now it turns out it is just going to make matters worse.

Just think about that credibility gap when you see the majority insist on rushing through a job-killing regulatory bill with promises that it will end Wall Street bailouts. The bill doesn't end Wall Street bailouts; it makes them permanent and institutionalizes ``too big to fail.'' This bill doesn't get the government out of the private sector; it creates a Politburo-style council of regulators who can seize any business and do almost anything they want to do with it. And the bill doesn't address the real reasons for the financial meltdown. It gives a free ride to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government mortgage companies that started this crisis.

Americans were promised a new Washington. Instead, it's just more of the same: more spending, more government, and more empty promises. I think it's time we start listening to the American people. Let's work together on commonsense solutions to end the bailouts, reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and hold Wall Street accountable. Let's work together to repeal this government takeover of health care and replace it with commonsense reforms that will lower the cost of health care. Let's work to ban earmarks and stop out-of-control spending. And most importantly, let's work on commonsense solutions that will help small businesses create the kind of jobs that Americans are looking for.

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