Boehner, House GOP Outline Plan to Make Health Care More Affordable & Accessible for All Americans

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today issued the following statement after Members of the House GOP Health Care Reform Solutions Group outlined its proposal to reduce costs and expand Americans’ access to affordable health care:


"Health care reform is a bipartisan priority, but the Democrats’ plan for government-run health care is not the change Americans want. Their new government-run program will make health care more expensive, raise taxes, ration care, and empower bureaucrats to make key medical decisions instead of patients and doctors. It will force at least 23 million Americans to lose their current health care plan, and force them into a massive new government-run plan that will crowd out all competition. Middle-class families and small businesses simply don’t support a government takeover of health care, and neither should Congress.

“House Republicans have a better plan to reduce costs, expand access, and increase the quality of care in a way that Americans can afford. Our plan focuses on innovative preventive and wellness programs to help avoid serious, and costly, illnesses. It gives states tools to design innovative programs that make health care coverage more affordable for everyone, while providing more Americans incentives to buy health care they cannot afford now. Our proposal allows small businesses to band together and provide insurance for their employees at a lower cost, just as large corporations and unions do. And it roots out waste, fraud, and abuse that costs taxpayers billions, while reining in junk lawsuits that make health care more costly for everyone.

“Unlike the Democrats’ government takeover of health care, this common-sense plan keeps patients and doctors in charge of key medical decisions. I thank Rep. Blunt, as well as Reps. Dave Camp (R-MI), Buck McKeon (R-CA), Joe Barton (R-TX), and all the Members of our Republican Solutions Group for their work on this proposal, and I urge Democrats in Washington to give it serious consideration during the health care debate this summer.”

NOTE: The plan outlined by the House Republican Health Care Reform Solutions Group, led by Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO), is designed to:

Make quality health care coverage affordable and accessible for every American, regardless of pre-existing health conditions.
Protect Americans from being forced into a new government-run health care plan that would eliminate the health care coverage that more than 100 million Americans currently receive through their job.
Let Americans who like their health care coverage keep it, and give all Americans the freedom to choose the health plan that best meets their needs.
Ensure that medical decisions are made by patients and their doctors, not government bureaucrats.
Improve Americans’ lives through effective prevention, wellness, and disease management programs, while developing new treatments and cures for life-threatening diseases.
Boehner said the GOP plan also maintains current law provisions regarding restrictions on federal funding of abortion services, and does not impose mandates either on insurance carriers or medical providers to participate in activities that violate their religious and moral beliefs.

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Boehner Previews House GOP Plan on Healthcare

OEHNER PREVIEWS HOUSE GOP’S PLAN TO EXPAND AMERICANS’ ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE:
“We’re going to make sure that all Americans have access to high-quality health insurance. Part of the way of doing that is to make sure they get the same tax treatment as companies do today so insurance premiums are deductible for people, whether they get their insurance from their company or not. Bigger risk pools in states for those people who have pre-existing conditions. Help for those who can’t afford health insurance, in the private market. But we want to take the current system and improve it, to cover almost all Americans. We don’t want the government to come in and bigfoot this like they’ve done other things.”

BOEHNER CONTRASTS HOUSE GOP PLAN WITH DEMOCRATS’ COSTLY GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER OF HEALTH CARE:
“We agree with the President and want to work with the President, to make sure that all Americans have access to high-quality, affordable, health insurance. But we’re not for the government taking control of our health system. And if you look at the leading Democrat proposals in the House and Senate, they have this giant government bureaucracy that literally is going to take over private health insurance in America. And if you think the post office is the model of efficiency, can you imagine what they’re going to do to America’s health care? We’re going to unveil our plan today that will bring down costs, insure most Americans, and improve the quality of care that we have in our country.”

BOEHNER WARNS ADMINISTRATION’S FINANCIAL REGULATORY PROPOSAL MAY SLOW JOB GROWTH EVEN FURTHER:
“If you look deeply into some of what the President’s calling for, we’ll have the federal government deciding what interest ought to be charged on credit cards. We’ll have the President’s proposal having to decide what kind of financial products are available. And I just think that the government involvement in the financial industry is going to be too big of a foot, on an industry that’s already having problems. I think at the end of the day, what the American people want is they want to know, how do I get my job back? How do I hold on to my job? And these kinds of policies that we’re seeing out of the Administration are going to work to slow down job growth and prevent the private sector from growing and bringing people back to work."

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Karen Handel to Speak to South Metro Young Republicans Tonight

The South Metro Young Republicans is having its June meeting tonight, Wednesday, June 17, 2009, at 7:00 pm at the Irish Bred Pub in Peachtree City (273 Highway 74 N).

Karen Handel, Georgia's Secretary of State, and candidate for governor, will be our guest speaker.

Young Republicans offers you a chance to meet lots of local and state leaders, an environment for becoming more involved citizens, and even the opportunity of leadership in our club. No cost or commitment is required to come to our events. We welcome everyone, regardless of political beliefs.

Looking forward to seeing you tonight!

Nathan Bradfield
Chairman
info@smyr.org
www.smyr.org
Also, join our Facebook page to stay current with our events.

Westmoreland: IMF loan a poison pill

U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland today regretted that he had to vote against the bill to fund the war effort because Democrats tacked on $108 billion in loan guarantees to the International Monetary Fund. All House Republicans and a handful of Democrats joined Westmoreland in opposition, but the bill passed the House.

“American troops are waging a war that has gone on for years and members of Congress should be able to vote to fund the war with no strings attached,” Westmoreland said. “Instead, we’re getting an alleged war spending bill that actually spends more money on the International Monetary Fund than on the war.”

The legislation provides just under $80 billion for the war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan over the next year. It provides additional money for other defense-related funds and Westmoreland voted for a bipartisan troop funding bill earlier this year that didn’t include the IMF funding.

“Americans overseas are fighting for us in wars. And Americans at home are fighting to pay the bills during a time of extraordinary economic difficulty,” Westmoreland continued. “We have the ability to bounce back out of this recession, but we can’t afford to pay for a global bailout – we have more than enough bailouts going on in our own country, thank you very much. The irony of all this is that we have to borrow money from other countries, particularly China, in order to lend money to the IMF, which then lends money to countries that hate the United States.

“I hate to vote against a bill that funds our troops. We in Congress have a duty and a responsibility to them. But today’s bill does them a disservice, because these troops are also American citizens and they’ll come home and have to join all the rest of us in paying off this gigantic debt that the Democrats are running up.”
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Haralson Outreach Day: Gingrey representative in Buchanan to answer questions, gather opinions

Congressman Phil Gingrey will have a representative in Haralson County on June 24th to assist constituents with case work, legislative questions and other concerns and inquiries. Linda Liles, Constituent Service Representative to the Congressman, will be at the Government Complex, Conference Room, 155 Van Wert St., Buchanan, GA 30113 on Wednesday, June 24, 2009 from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM. All members of the community are invited to stop by for assistance with federal agencies, answers to questions about Congressional legislation, and an opportunity to voice comments or concerns they would like brought to Congressman Gingrey’s attention. This service is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Linda Liles at (706) 290-1776.

House Republican Leaders Outline $375 Billion in Federal Savings in Proposal for President Obama

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) today sent a proposal to President Obama outlining $375 billion in taxpayer savings over the next five years. The savings proposal comes after a White House meeting in which the GOP leaders pledged to deliver to the President a plan that expands upon his initial proposal to trim the federal budget. Boehner issued the following statement on the leaders’ proposal:

“We hope the President will work with us to make the reforms outlined in this proposal as the first step in a serious bipartisan effort to crack down on unnecessary and duplicative spending by the federal government. The federal government is too big and wastes much of the money it takes from middle-class families and small businesses. In today’s tough economy, we owe it to taxpayers to get serious about changing the way in which Washington spends their hard-earned money. I commend Rep. Cantor and Members of the House GOP’s Economic Recovery Solutions Group for their work in crafting this proposal and for their ongoing effort to control spending, create jobs, and curb the debt.”


June 4, 2009

The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President,

Per our last bipartisan leadership meeting on April 23rd, enclosed please find a list of proposals that we believe could generate significant savings for American taxpayers.

As we have expressed to you, we are greatly troubled by the spending and deficit levels adopted in the recent budget. We believe this level of spending and borrowing is not only unsustainable, but unfair towards hard-working American families who will see increased mortgage costs as a result of our reckless borrowing and to future generations who will be required to pay for this profligate spending.

In testimony before the House Budget Committee yesterday, Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke raised similar concerns stating, “Unless we demonstrate a strong commitment to fiscal sustainability in the longer term, we will have neither financial stability nor healthy economic growth."

Of course, reducing spending is never easy. In 2005 when Congressional Republicans enacted the Deficit Reduction Act, which saved taxpayers $40 billion over five years, not one single Democrat in the House or Senate supported the bill. The proposed terminations and reductions your Administration released last month garnered immediate opposition from many Democrats. Likewise, the proposals we have put forward here will not be supported by all Republicans. However, if we work together, we are confident that we can come up with a common-sense package of entitlement reforms, program terminations, and spending reductions that will generate significant savings for the American taxpayer and reduce our current deficit. For example, enactment of the proposals we have outlined in the enclosed document could save taxpayers in excess of $375 billion.

We will continue to work with our Members to identify other potential areas for savings. We firmly believe that given the gravity of the current fiscal situation both parties must dedicate themselves to a sustained program to root out wasteful and unnecessary spending and reforming entitlement programs.

We look forward to working with you in this endeavor.

Sincerely,

John Boehner Eric Cantor
Republican Leader Republican Whip

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Gwinnett GOP to Host Rep. Austin Scott and County Commissioners at Saturday Breakfast

The Republican Party of Gwinnett County’s upcoming breakfast meeting will feature guest speaker State Representative Austin Scott (R-Tifton), Chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee and candidate for Governor.

Also invited are all 5 county commissioners to talk about the proposed millage rate increase was tabled at Tuesday’s public hearing.

“The Gwinnett Republican Party offers the county’s conservative voters the opportunity to meet the candidates running for governor and to be better educated on this issues that matter in the community,” said party Chairman Chuck Efstration.

The meeting, scheduled for this Saturday, June 6th, will start at 8:30 a.m. Breakfast service begins at 8:00 a.m. and the meeting is held at the Sweet Tomatoes restaurant located at 3505 Mall Boulevard in Duluth, across from Gwinnett Place Mall.

For more information on this Saturday’s meeting or other upcoming Gwinnett Republican Party events, please visit our web site at www.gwinnettgop.org or send an email to gwinnettrepublicanparty@gmail.com.
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Boehner: White House Health Care Report More Smoke & Mirrors

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) released the following statement on the health care report released today by the President’s Council of Economic Advisors:


“This report is nothing more than smoke and mirrors. Everyone agrees that reducing the cost of health care would benefit our economy, but the Administration hasn’t offered a credible plan to do so without raising taxes or rationing care. Republicans want to work with the President and Democrats in Congress to ensure that every American has access to affordable, high-quality health coverage. But this 56-page press release lacks any real answers about how the Administration will deliver promised savings and improve Americans’ health care.

“One thing is clear: We don’t need a government takeover of health care that raises taxes, rations care, and puts government bureaucrats in control of decisions that should be made by families and doctors. The American people are asking for common sense solutions, not more photo-ops that produce a good headline but make no real difference to the millions of Americans struggling to pay for their health care coverage. Congress should be working together to improve access to quality health care, reduce skyrocketing costs, and fix what’s broken.”

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Boehner Statement on GM Bankruptcy

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) issued the following statement today after General Motors filed for bankruptcy protection:

“This agreement may buy some time, but does nothing to ensure GM’s success. The only thing it makes clear is that the government is firmly in the business of running companies using taxpayer dollars. Does anyone really believe that politicians and bureaucrats in Washington can successfully steer a multinational corporation to economic viability? It’s time for the Administration to fully explain what the exit strategy is to get the U.S. government out of the board room once and for all.

“The success of our automotive industry is critical to families, workers, and communities across America, including my home state of Ohio. But the policies coming out of Washington have been conflicting and counterproductive, while leaving American workers holding the bag. On one hand, the Administration says it is committed to keeping GM afloat, but then it announces increased CAFE standards that would force more American auto jobs overseas. Auto workers and retirees, their families, and all taxpayers deserve better.”

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