This morning, Congressman John Boehner addressed conservatives at the 2011 Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C., where he discussed GOP efforts to remove government barriers to private sector job creation, efforts by House Republicans to reform Congress, and his steadfast support for life and traditional marriage.
To watch Speaker Boehner’s address, click here. Excerpts of the speech follow:
BOEHNER ON RESPECTING LIFE & REPEALING OBAMACARE:
“To protect jobs and to protect freedom, we vowed to the American people that we would vote to repeal ObamaCare. It was one of the first bills that we moved through the Congress, through the House, and it continues to sit over at the United States Senate. We've rooted out special slush funds. We've moved to eliminate them. And we're going to do everything that we can to make sure that ObamaCare never ever is fully implemented.
“In my opinion, ObamaCare will ruin the best health care delivery system in the world and will bankrupt our nation. And you all remember during that debate on ObamaCare, the president vowed -- vowed that there would be no public funds used to support elective abortion. And you remember we had the big fight over the Hyde amendment because members of Congress from both sides of the political aisle wanted to ensure that the principle that had been the law of the land for some 25 years would be contained in this document. And the White House did everything they could to stop it, issuing an executive order basically promising people it would do the same thing as the Hyde amendment.
“Well, I knew right then and there that something was amiss. And so making sure that the Hyde amendment becomes the law of the land once again to prohibit federal taxpayer dollars from being used to fund elective abortion -- was passed by the House, and we're going to continue to press to make this the law of the land. You know, respect for life has never been a political issue for me. I think I've told you I've got 11 brothers and sisters. My mother had us one at a time. I'm sure it wasn't convenient for her. But I'm glad they're all here.”
BOEHNER ON SUPPORTING THE DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT:
“But beyond the life issue, we also promised to defend the Defense of Marriage Act. And I think -- you know, I have to tell you of my disappointment when the Justice Department decided they were going to ignore the law of the land, passed by -- in a bipartisan way by the Congress of the United States, signed into law by President Clinton -- that they were going to decide we're not going to defend this law.
“Well, as the speaker of the House, I have a constitutional responsibility. I've raised my hand to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States and the laws of our country. And if the Justice Department was not going to defend this act passed by Congress, well, then we will. And we have defended the law that the Congress passed. We're going to take the money away from the Justice Department, who's supposed to enforce it, and we'll use it to enforce the law.”
BOEHNER ON LIBERATING OUR ECONOMY FROM GOVT BARRIERS TO JOB CREATION:
“When it comes to jobs, part of our plank in our Pledge to America, we pledged that we would stop the job-crushing tax increases, and we have. We voted every week to stop excessive government regulations from hampering our economy and the ability of employers to grow our economy. We'll soon pass the REINS Act, which would require any new regulation from this government that cost $100 million or more to be voted on, up or down, by both houses of the Congress.
“When it comes to spending, we said that we'd do something about stopping the spending binge that threatens bankruptcy for our economy and for our country. And under a Republican majority in the House, we've controlled discretionary spending. We've cut $1.2 trillion of spending over the next 10 years. We've instituted strict budget caps that will limit spending for years to come. And the caps are key for jobs because -- keeping government from expanding, giving the economy a chance to grow.
BOEHNER ON SUPPORTING A BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION:
“The next step in this effort to control spending is to pass a balanced budget amendment to our Constitution. We passed a deficit reduction act this summer. It requires each house of the Congress to pass a balanced budget amendment after October 1st but before the end of the year, giving us the maximum opportunity to have the most significant and real enforcement mechanisms that you can imagine, a real requirement of the Constitution that we balance our federal budget. So that vote's coming, but we need your voices to be heard in that debate for members of both the House and the Senate in both political parties.”
BOEHNER ON THE HOUSE GOP’S GOVERNING DOCUMENT, THE PLEDGE TO AMERICA:
“Americans sent a new majority to Washington with a clear message: that government exists to serve the people and not to rule it. And I think the American people deserve a clear commitment from us -- to listen to them, to work for a smaller, less costly and more accountable government here in Washington. And that's the idea that was at the heart of our Pledge to America, a governing agenda that House Republicans outlined and issued to the American people almost a year ago.
“That Pledge to America was designed by listening to the American people and put together by House Republicans as a document that reflected the will and the concern and the interest of the American people. We've recently marked the one-year anniversary of our Pledge to America. American people want to see their leaders listening, not celebrating. But we're keeping our Pledge to America. We built it by listening, and we're going to continue to listen to the American people.”
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