Pillars of a New Majority

By Leader John Boehner (R-OH)

June – November 2010
“The value of a majority lies not in the chance to wield great
power, but in the chance to use limited power to do great things.”

– John Boehner, Remarks on the House Floor, January 4, 2007

 Foreword

History will record 2010 as the year in which the American people reasserted control of their government,
and the supremacy of the people over politicians and political parties was re-established. Born from
this movement was a new majority in the U.S. House of Representatives - a majority humbler than its
predecessors, determined to rebuild trust and eager to do the will of the people.

In the months leading up to the vote on November 2, I and other Republican leaders crisscrossed the
nation on behalf of our candidates, spreading our party’s message of freedom and reform and raising the
resources necessary to repel the surge of Big Government in Washington. During this period, I also took
time to give a series of speeches that detail my vision of a principled new majority and the way in which
it should serve our nation. These five speeches, delivered between June and October, are compiled in
this document.

The Pledge to America is our governing agenda, built through a process of listening to the people. It’s my
hope that these five speeches -- some delivered as the Pledge was being conceived and written, and others
delivered after its launch -- lend further context to our governing agenda, and insight into the priorities
that will guide me if entrusted with the responsibility and honor of serving as Speaker of the House.

Several years before the speeches in this volume were delivered, I gave another speech, this one in the
House chamber itself. The date was January 4, 2007, the day on which Rep. Nancy Pelosi received the
Speaker’s gavel. In my remarks, I said: “the value of a majority lies not in the opportunity to wield great
power, but in the opportunity to use limited power to do great things” for the people we serve.

President Obama must decide whether he will heed the will of the people and work with us to address
their concerns, or continue on a path the people have rejected. If he joins us in listening to the people and
acknowledges their demand for smaller, more accountable government, much can be achieved. My hope
is that this compilation will serve as a source of information and inspiration to you as Republicans prepare
to govern and look ahead to the challenges that face our nation.

John Boehner
November 2010
Dedicated to the memory of Paula T. Nowakowski (1963-2010), my former Chief of Staff.
A great American patriot, warrior for freedom, brilliant strategist, and beloved friend.
 Pillars of a New Majority
By Leader John Boehner (R-OH)
June – November 2010

Table of Contents

Culture of Life 5
Remarks at National Right to Life Committee Annual Convention, Pittsburgh, PA, June 2010

Jobs & The Economy 11

Remarks at Cleveland City Club, Cleveland, Ohio, August 2010

National Security 19
Remarks at American Legion National Convention, Milwaukee, WI, August 2010

Congressional Reform 27
Remarks at American Enterprise Institute (AEI), Washington, DC, September 2010

A New Way Forward 35

Speech to American Workers & Constituents, West Chester, OH, October 2010
 Culture of Life
Remarks at National Right to Life Committee Annual
Convention, Pittsburgh, PA, June 2010

“The defense of life and the defense of freedom are necessarily

linked. We know this to be true. And if we accept it, then the
current political agenda in Washington is a threat to freedom.”

– John Boehner

5 Pillars of a New Majorit y | Culture of Life

Remarks by House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH)
at National Right to Life Convention
As Prepared for Delivery Pittsburgh, PA
June 26, 2010
I’m deeply, deeply honored to be here with you today.
I know the program says I’m here to accept an award.
But really, it isn’t my work we should be celebrating
here today; it’s YOUR work we should be celebrating.
It’s the collective energy of the National Right to Life
Committee and its state affiliates throughout America
that has made the real difference.
I want to thank each and every person in this room
for the leadership and sacrifice you’ve demonstrated in
your communities.
To be recognized by those who have devoted their
lives to defending life is a true badge of honor. Truly
awe-inspiring. I’m humbled, and inspired, by your
confidence in me.
Respect for life has never been a political position
for me. It just came naturally. It’s me. It’s what I
believe. It’s what my parents instilled in me as I grew
up in America. I think millions of Americans had a
similar experience.
I grew up in a small house in Cincinnati with a big
family – 11 brothers and sisters.
It wasn’t easy for my mom to have 12 children. But I’m
glad she did.
My parents sent all 12 of us to Catholic schools. It
wasn’t easy for them to do that; believe me, our family
could have used the money for a lot of other things. But
it was important to them that we got a good education.
And for them, a good education meant more than just
the ABCs and 1-2-3s. It was also important that we
learned about deeper values. Respect for life was at the
top of that list.
I’ve thought a lot about this speech and what I’m going
to say here. And as I went through that process, I
realized a few things about who I am, and who I think
we are as a people.
Americans love life, and we love freedom. They’re both
intertwined, permanently, as part of the American
character. America is a nation built on freedom. And
without respect for life, freedom is in jeopardy.
When human life takes a back seat to other priorities –
personal comforts, economics – freedom is diminished.
By contrast, when we affirm the dignity of life, we affirm
our commitment to freedom.
These are fundamentals in the American experience.
And they have real implications for government and
those who are entrusted with power.
For elected leaders, it means we should always err on
the side of life.
It means we must always respect the dignity of life, at all
stages – from conception and birth, to the end of life,
and everything in between.
It means we have a moral obligation to defend the
defenseless. And there is nothing more defenseless, or
more innocent, or more pure, than an unborn baby. The
defense of life and the defense of freedom are necessarily
linked. We know this to be true. And if we accept it,
then the current political agenda in Washington is a
threat to freedom.
As Governor Bob McDonnell, the new governor of
Virginia, said in his response to President Obama’s
State of the Union address in January: ‘America must
always be a land where liberty and property are valued
and respected, and innocent human life is protected.’
“I never sought to be recognized as a leader of the
movement. Never wore my pro-life credentials on
my sleeve.
I was what you might call a quiet warrior. I just voted
for what I thought was right, and stood up for what I
thought was right, like all of you do every day.
But over the past few years, I’ve been compelled to raise
my voice; to speak out a little more loudly.
When you look at the agenda being pursued in
Washington, if you believe in the right to life, being
 quiet isn’t good enough. We don’t have the luxury of
being ‘quiet.’
If you look at what’s going on, there’s a constant
tearing down of walls – walls that have stood as the
last line of defense for the unborn in the decades since
Roe v. Wade.
In retrospect, no one should be surprised. The warning
signs were there all along.
Before being elected as our 44th president, Senator
Barack Obama spoke at the national convention of
Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest provider
of abortion. He endorsed the so-called Freedom of
Choice Act, which would codify Roe v. Wade, and
promised to make its enactment a priority for his
administration if elected president.
During the president’s first week in office, on the 36th
anniversary of Roe v. Wade, I and 114 other House
Republicans sent the president a letter urging him to
withdraw his pledge to sign the Freedom of Choice
Act, or ‘FOCA,’ into law.
Our tone was respectful. Our message was one
of hope.
The letter stated: ‘Americans from all walks of life
have been touched by your pledge to govern from
the center, and by your vow to be a president for all
Americans ...You’ve expressed a desire to be a president
for all Americans, and to use your presidency to promote
initiatives that bring Americans together, rather than
drive them apart.’
And we asked him, respectfully, to withdraw his pledge
to sign the Freedom of Choice Act.
We never got a response to that letter from the president
– not in writing, anyway.
But in the 18 months since the letter was sent, we’ve
gotten our answer. And tragically, the answer has come
through the administration’s own actions. The FOCA
agenda is being implemented, incrementally, step by
tragic step.
In the first few months of his presidency, President
Obama took at least three separate actions weakening
7 Pillars of a New Majorit y | Culture of Life
American rules that were meant to safeguard the
sanctity of human life.
He repealed the Mexico City Policy that prevents
taxpayer dollars from going to international family
planning organizations that promote – and sometimes
provide – abortion overseas.
He took it upon himself to create federal incentives to
destroy human embryos – taking this action at a time
when science is demonstrating that the true potential
of stem cell research lies in the type of stem cell
research that does not require the destruction of living
human embryos.
And he weakened conscience protections that protect
doctors and nurses who decline to provide abortions
for moral reasons.
Most of those actions were announced late on
a Friday afternoon. In Washington, a Friday af-
ternoon announcement is code that you want to
hide something.
These were the start of a pattern we’ve seen repeated
throughout this administration. In the latest instance,
the Obama administration is moving to allow abortions
on military bases.
It’s sadly ironic – and profoundly disturbing – that our
government would endorse the destruction of innocent
American lives on the same soil our men and women
walk each and every day in defense of freedom and
liberty.
It undermines everything the fine men and women of
our military are fighting for.
And then, of course, there’s the president’s massive
health care overhaul – ObamaCare.
The overwhelming opposition of the American people
to taxpayer funding of abortion almost kept it from
becoming law.
The American people – and a bipartisan majority in
the House – supported the Stupak amendment, which
would have prohibited taxpayer funding of abortion
through the health care bill.
This presented a huge problem for the President and
the Democratic leadership. Because the health care
overhaul wasn’t being driven by the will of the people; it
was being driven by the will of special interests – radical
special interests who believe the destruction of unborn
human life is ‘health care.’
Ultimately it became apparent to the White House
and Democratic leaders that they couldn’t find the
votes to kill the pro-life Stupak amendment. So they
came up with a little maneuver.
Instead of heeding the will of the people and a bipartisan
majority in the House, they crafted a disingenuous, last-
minute Executive Order that they claimed eliminated
the need for pro-life protections. The president
issued the order, and White House aides indicated its
enforcement would be a priority.
That, sadly, was good enough for a handful of legislators,
including Rep. Stupak himself, who prior to that point
had mounted a courageous fight.
But pro-life America didn’t buy it. They doubted the
administration’s sincerity – and with good reason.
We’re three months into implementation of the new
health care law – and as far as anyone can tell, the
administration hasn’t lifted a finger to enforce the
president’s Executive Order on abortion.
Secretary Sebelius sent a cheery ‘progress report’ on
ObamaCare’s implementation to Congress in May
that made no mention of the Executive Order. When
I questioned her about it, she said only that the
administration is ‘working on it.’
Several more weeks went by after that, without any
apparent action. So two weeks ago, at the White
House, I asked President Obama about it personally.
Everyone in the room heard me ask the question. But
we’re all still waiting for an answer.
I say all this with great sadness. Sadness for the unborn,
absolutely. But also sadness for our nation.
These policies do not unite America. They divide
America. And in the coming months, America must
decide whether we’re going to allow it to continue.
We recently launched an initiative called America
Speaking Out, aimed at engaging the American people
directly in the process of crafting new governing
agenda for Congress. One of the tools is a website,
AmericaSpeakingOut.com, that allows every American
to log on, submit ideas, and vote on ideas submitted by
other Americans.
I encourage everyone in this room – go to
AmericaSpeakingOut.com, and tell your neighbors
about it. Use it to get engaged in your government.
One of my all-time heroes in the House is Congressman
Henry Hyde, the late representative from Illinois.
Part of Henry’s legacy, as you know, is the
Hyde amendment, which prohibits Congress from
appropriating taxpayer funds for abortion.
One of the many ideas being discussed right now on
America Speaking Out is the idea of codifying the Hyde
Amendment so that it applies to all federal funding,
whether those funds are appropriated by Congress or
authorized by Congress.
I believe this must be the next objective for pro-life
America. It’s clear from the health care debate that the
American people don’t want their tax dollars paying
for abortion, and a bipartisan majority in the House of
Representatives agrees. It’s the will of the people, and it
ought to be the law of the land – right now.
I’m pleased to announce today that Congressman Chris
Smith of New Jersey will be introducing legislation
to accomplish this goal. I intend to be an original
cosponsor of the bill. And once it is introduced, I will
call on Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer to
bring it to an immediate vote.
It’s time for Washington to stop defying the will of the
American people on this critical, common-sense issue.
I also believe we need to repeal the health care bill and
start over on common sense reforms that will lower
health care costs for families and protect the sanctity
of all human life.
Our nation was built on ideas that came directly from
the people – people who took an active interest in
their government.
 Americans today need to be engaged, because the
people running our government haven’t been listening.
And if the failure to listen continues, the consequences
could be catastrophic.
It will mean two more years in which Planned
Parenthood, EMILY’s List and other radical groups
determine the direction of our government, while the
voices of pro-life Americans are shut out.
It will mean two more years of Supreme Court
appointments for activist judges who didn’t think
Roe v. Wade was radical enough.
First, Henry was my friend, and probably the colleague
I most admired during my two decades in the House.
Second, the examples that Henry set, in the way
conducted himself, and in the way he defended life, are
examples WE must follow.
Henry was at peace in the presence of others – even
those who disagreed with him most – because of his
unshakable faith in the sanctity of every human life.
And when Henry died a few years ago, I had the great
honor of being asked to speak at his memorial service.

It could set back the cause of life for decades.
As we look ahead to the future, we need to know who
the defenders of life really are. No one gets a pass when
it comes to life.
The thwarting of the Stupak amendment was a signal
moment for pro-life America. It reminded us that
while any politician can say he or she is “pro-life,”
actions speak louder than words.
The lesson: get involved in your government. Speak
out. Find out where your legislators and would-be
legislators stand.
I recall some of my words then: treating everyone with
dignity and respect came naturally to Henry. Not just
because he was kind and full of decency, but because he
truly believed all human life is precious.
Henry was right. There is no cause more noble than
the defense of human life. There is no mission more
critical. No debate more urgent.
You know this in your hearts, or you wouldn’t be here
today. And from the bottom of my heart – thank you
for this honor, and thanks for all you do to defend
freedom, and defend life.

Is your Member of Congress committed to the defense

of life? Or is it negotiable?

“Is your Member of Congress truly dedicated to

protecting the unborn? Or can he or she be swayed
by the offer of a pork-barrel project, or a new
government program, or the promise of a plum
committee assignment?

“This is the time to know the answer to these questions.

This is when it matters.

You invited me here to give me an award, and I gratefully

accept it. But let’s be clear: the true leaders are sitting
out there in the crowd right now. What I do matters
less than what you do.

I mentioned Henry Hyde earlier, and I want to close by

mentioning him again, for a couple of reasons.

9 Pillars of a New Majorit y | Culture of Life

 Jobs & The Economy
Remarks at Cleveland City Club,
Cleveland, Ohio, August 2010

“We’ve tried 19 months of government-as-community organizer.

It hasn’t worked. Our fresh start needs to begin now.”

– John Boehner

11 Pillars of a New Majorit y | Jobs & Economy

Remarks by House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH)
on Jobs & The Economy
As Prepared for Delivery
The City Club of Cleveland, Cleveland, OH
August 24, 2010
T
hank you for being here. I know this is the
beginning of another long day for you –
trying to make heads or tails of this economy,
trying to make decisions without knowing what the
next week, or even the next day, will bring.
Working at my dad’s bar in Reading, mopping floors
and waiting tables, I watched him and the folks in our
neighborhood agonize over these decisions. Later, I
had to make them myself running a small business in
West Chester.
When I travel around our state, I talk to employers
who are not only trying to create jobs, but also trying
to keep the people they have. The powers-that-be in
Washington don’t stop to think of how, for a small
business, employees are like family members.
You watch them start a family, you lend an ear when
they’re trying to find a house in a good school district,
you run over to the hospital when someone’s sick.
These are bonds that can’t be measured in statistics
and spreadsheets coming from this bureau or that
bureaucracy. But intangible as these bonds are, they
have been frayed by the struggling economy.
Right now, America’s employers are afraid to invest in an
economy stalled by ‘stimulus’ spending and hamstrung
by uncertainty. The prospect of higher taxes, stricter
rules, and more regulations has employers sitting on
their hands. And after the pummeling they’ve taken
from Washington over the last 18 months, who can
blame them?
While visiting our state last week, President Obama
attended a political fundraiser in downtown Columbus.
At that exact moment, just a few blocks away, hundreds
of Ohioans were waiting in line at a job fair where they
would learn yet again that companies aren’t hiring right
now. They’re frozen.
Or, as the organizer of the job fair put it, employers are
– and I’m quoting now – “scared to death.”
Scared to death.
When I met with the president last month at The
White House, I conveyed my belief – shared by many
economists – that this ongoing uncertainty is hurting
small businesses and preventing the creation of private
sector jobs.
Not long after we spoke, he signed a 26 billion dollar
‘stimulus’ spending bill that funnels money to state
governments in order to protect government jobs. Even
worse, the bill is funded by a new tax hike that makes it
more expensive to create jobs in the United States and
less expensive to create jobs overseas.
This cannot continue.
I have had enough – and the American people have
had enough – of Washington politicians talking about
wanting to create jobs as a ploy to get themselves re-
elected while doing everything possible to prevent jobs
from being created.
A Plan to Break the Ongoing
Economic Uncertainty
Today I am proposing five actions President Obama
should take immediately to break this economic
uncertainty and help more Americans find an honest
day’s work:
First, President Obama should announce he will not
carry out his plan to impose job-killing tax hikes on
families and small businesses.
Unless Congress acts, virtually every American will see
their taxes go up on January 1, 2011.
President Obama has stated he wants to stop some tax
hikes, and not others, once again putting the government
in the position of picking winners and losers and pitting
taxpayer against taxpayer. According to an analysis by
the non-partisan Joint Tax Committee, Congress’s
official tax scorekeeper, half of small business income
in America – half – would face higher taxes under the
president’s plan.
 Of course, as if on cue, the same Washington politicians
who have spent the last 18 months borrowing and
spending our economy into the ground are now fretting
over whether we can afford the ‘cost’ of stopping job-
killing tax hikes.
Only in Washington would it be acceptable to think
that taxpayers should have to pay for the privilege of
keeping more of their own hard-earned money.
We will not solve our fiscal challenges until we cut
spending and have real economic growth – and we
won’t have real economic growth if we keep raising
taxes on small businesses.
One of President Obama’s predecessors once said that
“an economy constrained by high tax rates will never
produce enough revenue to balance the budget, just as
it will never create enough jobs.”
That president was John F. Kennedy.
So let me be clear: raising taxes on families and small
businesses during a recession is a recipe for disaster –
both for our economy and for the deficit. Period. End
of story.
That’s why President Obama should work with
Republicans to stop ALL of these job-killing tax hikes.
Second, President Obama should announce that he
will veto any job-killing bills sent to his desk by a lame-
duck Congress – including ‘card check,’ a national
energy tax, and any other tax increases on families
and small businesses.
The House passed a ‘cap-and-trade’ national energy
tax last year, but the Senate has yet to act. Remember,
this is a plan under which the president said “electricity
rates would necessarily skyrocket.”
The national energy tax has the capacity to wipe out
many of the manufacturers and family farms here in the
Rust Belt that are just barely hanging on.
Also pending is ‘card check.’ This bill is the top priority
for the public-sector unions that provide the money
and foot soldiers for Democratic campaigns.
13 Pillars of a New Majorit y | Jobs & Economy
It eliminates a worker’s right to a secret ballot in union
elections, making it easier for unions to organize while
putting employers at a firm disadvantage. Card check
is essentially a ‘how-to’ guide for destroying small
business jobs.
When I asked the president about his support for ‘card
check’ during our meeting last month, he accused me of
scare tactics, while the rest of the Democratic Leaders
in the room acted like they didn’t know what I was
talking about.
The very next week, the president told a union crowd
he will ‘keep on fighting’ for ‘card check.’
Democratic Leaders refuse to rule out the possibility
of forcing these job-killing bills through in a lame-
duck session, after the election, after the voters have
had their say.
Their failure to level with the American people only
compounds the ongoing economic uncertainty.
President Obama should announce that he would veto
these job-killing bills, and I pledge that Republicans
will work with him to sustain those vetoes.
Third, President Obama should call on Democratic
Leaders in Congress to stop obstructing Republicans’
attempts to repeal the new health care law’s job-killing
‘1099 mandate.’
The president’s government takeover of health care is
already wreaking havoc on employers and entrepreneurs.
This is a law that – upon its enactment – triggered
the creation of more than 160 boards, bureaucracies,
programs, and commissions. By the end of July,
Washington had already racked up nearly 3,833 pages
of regulations to direct the law’s implementation.
One of the new law’s most controversial mandates
requires small businesses to report any total purchases
that run more than $600.
If a landscaper wants to buy a new lawnmower, or a
restaurant needs a new ice-maker, they have to report
that to the feds. If you’re a Mom-and-Pop grocery
store, and you buy $1000 worth of merchandise from
15 different vendors, that’s 15 different forms you
have to file.
What is the point of making employers and
entrepreneurs spend $17 billion to send all this
paperwork to Washington, where it’s going to cost
about $10 billion to log it in and file it away? Talk
about overhead.
Last month, Republicans attempted to force a vote
on the House floor to repeal this job-killing mandate.
Democratic Leaders blocked that vote and instead
attempted to use this as an opportunity to impose
another job-killing tax hike on U.S. job creators.
President Obama should call on Congress to repeal this
mandate without delay, and without strings attached.
Fourth, President Obama should submit to Congress
for its immediate consideration an aggressive spending
reduction package.
When Congress returns, we should force Washington
to cut non-defense discretionary spending to 2008
levels – before the ‘stimulus’ was put into place. This
would show Washington is ready to get serious about
bringing down the deficits that threaten our economy.
For his part, President Obama says we should wait and
talk about a deficit reduction plan next year. I say, let’s
talk about it right now.
All this ‘stimulus’ spending has gotten us nowhere,
but it comes from somewhere. We are now borrowing
41 cents of every dollar we spend from our kids and
grandkids. Think about that – 41 cents of every dollar
we spend.
This spring, when power changed hands in Britain
– another country racked by red ink – one Treasury
minister left a one-sentence note for his successor. The
note read, ‘I’m afraid to tell you there’s no money left.’
Well, I’m not afraid to tell you there’s no money left. In
fact, we’re broke. Our debt is now on track to the exceed
size of our entire economy in the next two years.
And the government has no plan in place for paying
this debt back. In fact, Congress did not even write a
budget for the coming fiscal year – they just canceled
it altogether.
Without a budget, Washington will try to get away
with continuing to spend at current levels. We cannot
allow that to happen.
Economists have warned that all this borrowing runs
the risk of causing a damaging spike in interest rates,
which would cripple job creation.
We also cannot allow politicians in Washington to
continue trotting out the same tired scare tactics because
they don’t have the courage to say no to whichever
union or interest has their hand out.
That’s not governing, and that’s certainly not leadership.
Those are just the last gasps of a failed government
clinging to the discredited belief that more spending,
more taxing, and more borrowing can solve all
our problems.
Republicans are ready to work with President Obama
to take this first step on the path to fiscal sanity.
Lastly, employers and small business owners are rightly
frustrated by the fact that no one in the White House
-- not the president, not the vice president, not his
economic team -- is listening to them.
Part of the reason for that is that virtually no one in
the White House has run a small business and created
jobs in the private sector. That lack of real-world,
hands-on experience shows in the policies coming out
of this Administration.
The American people are asking ‘where are the jobs’
and all the president’s economic team has to offer are
promises of ‘green shoots’ that never seem to grow. The
worse things get, the more they circle the wagons and
defend the indefensible.
We have been told that the president’s economic team
is ‘exhausted’ - already, his budget director and his chief
economist have moved on or are about to. Clearly,
they see the writing on the wall, and the president
should too.
President Obama should ask for – and accept –
the resignations of the remaining members of his
economic team, starting with Secretary Geithner
and Larry Summers, the head of the National
Economic Council.
 Now, this is no substitute for a referendum on the
president’s job-killing agenda. That question will be
put before the American people in due time. But we do
not have the luxury of waiting months for the president
to pick scapegoats for his failing ‘stimulus’ policies.
We’ve tried 19 months of government-as-community
organizer. It hasn’t worked. Our fresh start needs to
begin now.
Listening to the American People
Today I’d like to talk to you about how we go about
achieving the fresh start we need.
In May, Republicans launched the America Speaking
Out project, led by Congressman Kevin McCarthy,
to give taxpayers, families and small business owners a
direct line to their elected representatives.
Online and at town hall meetings, Americans are
sharing their solutions for building a more responsive
government and a better country. All you have to do
is log on to AmericaSpeakingOut.com, post an idea of
your own, or comment and vote on someone else’s. As
we speak, thousands of ideas are percolating on America
Speaking Out.
This listening effort will culminate next month with the
release of a clear and positive governing agenda focused
on getting people working again. Because jobs is the
issue - and ‘where are the jobs?’ is the question - I hear
about everywhere I go.
This agenda will reject Washington-knows-best
policies and offer a fresh start focused on unshackling
small businesses, unleashing the entrepreneurship of
our people and helping families across this great nation
realize the American Dream.
Now, this won’t be just some document handed down
by Washington know-it-alls pushing the same-old,
same-old.
And it certainly won’t be based on the idea that sitting
in Washington cutting backroom deals on 2,000-page
bills represents hope.
We are building this agenda from the ground up by
listening to the American people.
15 Pillars of a New Majorit y | Jobs & Economy
Spending
Never before has the need for a fresh start in
Washington been more pressing. I’ve discussed what
we’re up against in terms of addressing the immediate
economic uncertainty.
Beyond the soundbites and headlines, Washington is
gripped by a more entrenched uncertainty – a standstill
bred from all the scar tissue built up between the two
parties, all the kicking the can down the road, and all
the interests that prod us to keep doing so.
I’ve said that if I were fortunate enough to be Speaker
of the House, I would run the House differently.
And I don’t just mean differently than the way
Democrats are running it now. I mean differently
than it’s been run in the past under Democrats
OR Republicans.
That means challenging the old ways in Washington,
getting to the bottom of what drives people crazy, and
then fixing it once and for all.
Look at spending. We don’t just need to stop spending
so much, we need to stop spending so irrationally.
The common logic among Washington Democrats
is that government spending creates jobs when that
money is used to build a hiking trail or a playground.
Yet we have to remember that, even when spending is
not at record-setting levels, each dollar the government
collects is taken directly out of the private sector.
This is a lose-lose proposition, plain and simple. On the
front-end, Washington’s investments in the economy
aren’t nearly as efficient because government spending
decisions often put a premium on political expedience
rather than sound economic policy.
And, as we’re learning now, deficit spending always
comes due.
Here’s an example of how out-of-hand things have
become: we have recently seen Washington politicians
take victory laps for spending billions of dollars to
continue providing unemployment insurance These
benefits are held up as a “jobs plan” and ‘stimulus’ for
the economy.
Keeping workers on the unemployment rolls instead
of fostering small business and private sector growth
is not a responsible jobs plan. The American people
would agree unemployment insurance is an important
safety net, but it is not a responsible jobs plan.
The American people know what’s going on here. They
know that when the bill comes due, it’s their pockets
Washington will look to for a bailout. We’re seeing it
right now with the president’s plan to raise taxes.
Listen, we need to have an honest conversation with
the American people about the scope of our fiscal
challenges – that means everything from short-term
commitments to long-term commitments.
It is an act of bad faith – and bad judgment – to start
this conversation by imposing job-killing tax hikes on
families and small businesses.
Failing to rein in these debts is our own fault – both
Democrats and Republicans. We should not punish
unemployed workers and small business owners for our
inability to make the tough choices we were elected
to make.
We need to start looking at every government program
and ask ourselves: is it right to force our kids and
grandkids to pay for this? As Mitch Daniels, the
governor of Indiana, recently said, “You’d really be
amazed at how much government you’d never miss.”
Taxes
Just as we re-evaluate how the federal government
spends money, we should also rethink how it
collects money.
Washington’s backwards accounting assumes tax relief
expires, but that spending programs will continue
– setting up a built-in bias for higher taxes and
more spending.
That is, of course, unless Congress extends the tax relief.
So instead of making tough choices, Congress ends up
essentially rubberstamping a haphazard collection of
“must do” tax policies from one year to the next.
The tax ‘extenders’ bill is a prime example of this. This
year’s ‘extenders’ bill had 71 separate tax provisions
in it, totaling 31.6 billion dollars. More provisions
get added in each year, but few if any ever fall out of
the package.
There’s everything in this bill: the research and
development tax credit, special expensing rules for
the film industry, an extension and modification of a
tax credit for steel industry fuel, the mine rescue team
training tax credit, and tax incentives for investment in
the District of Columbia.
Are they worth it? Many are. But we just go ahead and
extend all of them temporarily – and usually right at the
last minute – so Washington can continue pandering
to the loudest voices instead of implementing the
best ideas.
For Washington, that’s just business as usual, but that’s
no way to run a business – or a government.
We need to take a long and hard look at the undergrowth
of deductions, credits, and special carveouts that our
tax code has become.
And, yes, we need to acknowledge that what Washington
sometimes calls ‘tax cuts’ are really just poorly disguised
spending programs that expand the role of government
in the lives of individuals and employers.
It was the late Jack Kemp who said, ‘not all tax cuts
are created equal.’ We need to bring simplicity and
certainty to our tax code so we can make it a vehicle for
sustainable pro-growth policies, not transfer payments
to the favored few.
Government Run Amok
By trying to build a recovery on government ‘stimulus’
spending – and failing – Washington has kept the
private sector in bust while manufacturing a boom for
the public sector.
Since February 2009, the private sector has lost millions
of jobs while the federal government has grown by
hundreds of thousands of workers.
We’ve seen not just more government jobs, but better-
paying ones too. Federal employees now make on
 average more than double what private sector workers
take in.
More appalling is the fact that this gap more than
doubled in President Obama’s first year in office –
during a time when millions of private sector workers
either lost their jobs or agreed to take pay cuts just to
keep the one they have.
It’s just nonsense to think that taxpayers are subsidizing
the fattened salaries and pensions of federal bureaucrats
who are out there right now making it harder to create
private sector jobs.
As we speak, the Obama Administration has in the
queue 191 rules and regulations that could each have an
estimated annual cost to our economy of $100 million
or more – many may cost $1 billion or more.
That’s 191 new layers of red tape waiting in the wings,
191 de facto taxes on employers and consumers that
keep people out of work and hamper innovation and
investment. Small businesses cannot plan for the future
with ever-changing rules.
I wish I could tell you exactly what these new
rules are, but there’s no transparency here. Last
week, I sent a letter to the president asking him to
provide a full accounting of these regulations to the
American people.
We received a response, but still no details on what
these new regulations are.
No matter who’s in charge, the federal government
should not be able to issue job-threatening rules on a
whim, without public warning or proper scrutiny.
Better Solutions
Endless spending sprees, entangled tax structures, and
bureaucracy run amok – these are all outgrowths of a
tired, bloated, and broken Washington.
Now more than ever, we need a fresh start that puts
power back where it belongs: in the hands of the
people. As one citizen put it on the America Speaking
Out website, “just get out of the way.”
Republicans on the House Budget Committee, led
17 Pillars of a New Majorit y | Jobs & Economy
by Congressman Paul Ryan, have already identified
$1.3 trillion in specific spending cuts that could be
implemented immediately.
These are common-sense steps – like canceling unspent
‘stimulus’ and TARP bailout funds – that put the brakes
on Washington’s out-of-control spending spree.
Republicans have also proposed establishing
strict budget caps to limit federal spending on an
annual basis.
If we reduce spending from current levels and impose a
hard cap on future growth, we can save taxpayers more
than $340 billion and we can make sure this is the last
Washington spending spree of its kind.
To restore balance between the federal government and
the public sector, Republicans have called for freezing
both government pay and government hiring. Instead
of growing big-government, let’s focus on growing
small businesses.
Last month, as part of our America Speaking Out
project, Republican lawmakers met with leaders of
America’s employer community to hear their concerns
and talk about ways to end this economic uncertainty.
One of the ideas they mentioned was a freeze on
new job-killing federal regulations – just something
Washington could do to give them breathing room.
Right now, Republicans are fighting for common-sense
legislation authored by Congressman Geoff Davis of
Kentucky that would require congressional approval of
any new Executive Branch rule that imposes a cost of
$100 million or more on our nation’s economy.
This initiative would serve as a much-needed restraining
order against unelected busybodies and bureaucrats
who overstep their boundaries and make it harder to
create jobs.
President Reagan once said that there ought to be a law
against saying “there ought to be a law.” I could not
agree more.
It’s not enough, however, to break the current
uncertainty, rein in big government, and hope the
pendulum swings the other way. Once businesses get
up off the sidelines, we need to keep them in the game.
One idea Ways and Means Committee Ranking
Republican Dave Camp proposed as part of
Republicans’ ‘stimulus’ alternative called for allowing
small businesses with fewer than 500 employees to take
a tax deduction equal to 20 percent of their income.
This would free up extra capital for investment and new
hiring to jumpstart a robust recovery. It was a better
solution then, and it is a better solution now.
We’ve also recently heard a lot of talk in Washington
about the manufacturing sector, but no action. Congress
has yet to act on pending free trade agreements with
Colombia, Panama, and South Korea.
These agreements would level the playing field for
American workers, farmers, and businesses and pave
the way for creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs
here at home.
Passing these free-trade agreements was a critical
plank of the jobs plan that House Republican Whip
Eric Cantor and I presented to President Obama
last December.
Congress should approve these free trade agreements
immediately.
State Solutions
The best case I can make for these solutions is that they
work – and they are working right now.
Last year, House Republicans launched the State
Solutions project to bring Republican governors and
state legislators together to fight big-government
policies and promote better solutions to Americans’
everyday challenges.
Let’s look at what two Republican governors who have
been in office only a matter of months have been able
to accomplish:
In Virginia, Governor Bob McDonnell entered office
facing an unprecedented $4.2 billion deficit. His
predecessor, the chairman of the Democratic party,
proposed closing the shortfall by imposing the largest
tax increase in the state’s history.
Governor McDonnell refused to balance his state’s
budget by making it harder for Virginia families and
business owners to balance their own.
In New Jersey, Governor Chris Christie entered office
facing an $11 billion deficit. His predecessor, also a
Democrat, left behind a bloated government that used
election-year property tax gimmicks to survive one set
of broken promises after another.
Both governors forged bipartisan cooperation, set
priorities, cut spending, and closed their shortfalls –
without raising taxes.
But unless Washington provides leadership and puts
in place policies that promote lasting private sector job
creation – our engine of economic growth – the states
will continue to face difficult choices year after year
after year.
Closing
For 20 years now, I’ve watched leaders in both parties
take a look at the big issues, the tough issues – and then
look away. But now we’re just out of time. We have run
out of road to kick the can down.
It’s time to put grown-ups in charge. It’s time for people
willing to accept responsibility. It’s time to do what we
say we’re going to do.
These are the values I learned growing up with 11
brothers and sisters, and these are the values I have
passed on to my daughters.
I’ve also told my girls how I was raised to never accept
the next best thing for myself or my country.
This is the time. No more uncertainty. No more
muddled messages.
America’s strength is her people – hard working,
industrious, always pioneering, always innovating – so
we will confront these hard truths together and we will
tackle these challenges – together.
Thank you for being here. I look forward to taking
your questions.
 National Security
Remarks at American Legion National Convention,
Milwaukee, WI, August 2010

“Today, as thousands of our warriors come home seeking to provide for their
families and realize the American Dream they have volunteered to defend,
they confront an economy that affords neither opportunities nor jobs.
Veterans’ unemployment is now at 11 percent. That is why I have called on
my colleagues in the Congress and the president to join me in supporting a
series of immediate actions to end the ongoing economic uncertainty and
help more Americans find an honest day’s work. ‘Stimulus’ spending sprees,
permanent bailouts, federal mandates and government takeovers have failed
this nation and have failed our veterans.”

– John Boehner

19 Pillars of a New Majorit y | Nationa l S e curit y

Remarks by House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH)
on National Security
As Prepared for Delivery
92nd American Legion National Convention, Milwaukee, WI
August 31, 2010
T
hank you for that introduction, Commander
Hill. The American Legion made a great
choice by electing an Ohioan to serve as
national commander.
Thank you for having me - it is always an honor
to be among those who wear and have worn our
nation’s uniform.
Before I go any further, I want to thank the American
Legion and all our veterans service organizations for
supporting our troops wherever they are stationed and
caring for them when they come home.
It is truly hero’s work and I know I speak for all the
members of the United States Congress when I say
‘thank you.’
I also want to congratulate Commander Hill and the
hundreds of bikers who participated in yet another
successful Legacy Run. All told, you raised more than
$360,000 for the families of servicemembers who have
fallen in the line in the years following the terrorist
attacks of September 11, 2001.
Your efforts serve as a reminder of our shared resolve as
a country to never forget 9/11 and to keep faith with
the heroes who lost their lives that day -- often in the
hope that others might live.
Those memories don’t fade and these colors don’t run.
So we honor the sacrifices of our 9/11 heroes --- today…
tomorrow…always.
Thank you for the work you are doing to help improve
veterans’ access to the quality health care they deserve.
I was proud to work with the Legion last year to stop a
severely misguided plan to bill veterans’ health insurance
companies for combat injuries. Insurance companies
don’t send men and women into combat, our Nation
does – and our Nation should take responsibility for
that momentous decision.
And I was proud to stand with the Legion this year
to expose flaws in the new health care law that could
have harmed veterans. With the Legion’s help, we
successfully protected veterans’ health care benefits
from new mandates and costly regulations.
Jobs and the Economy
As important as our government’s commitment to
provide quality health care for our veterans may be,
just as important is a commitment to the dignity and
respect that comes from holding a job.
Today, as thousands of our warriors come home seeking
to provide for their families and realize the American
Dream they have volunteered to defend, awaiting them
is an economy that affords neither opportunities nor
jobs. Veterans’ unemployment is now at 11 percent.
That is why I have called on my colleagues in the
Congress and the president to join me in supporting
a series of immediate actions to end the ongoing
economic uncertainty and help more Americans find
an honest day’s work.
‘Stimulus’ spending sprees, permanent bailouts, federal
mandates and government takeovers have failed this
nation and have failed our veterans.
It’s time for a fresh start so that every man and woman
who has donned the uniform of our nation knows that
when they leave the service, the opportunity for a good
job in the private sector awaits them.
Iraq
It is an honor to share the stage today with Secretary
Robert Gates and I join him in thanking our brave men
and women who have served and are currently serving
in Iraq.
This day belongs to our troops, whose courage and
sacrifices have made the transition to a new mission
in Iraq possible. It is with profound gratitude that we
reflect on all that our servicemembers and their families
have done – and continue to do – during a time of
peril. We also salute the work of their commanders,
General David Petraeus and General Ray Odierno.
 At this moment, I can’t help but think back to a time
when the situation in Iraq was grim and the future
seemed bleak.
When General Petraeus embarked on the surge strategy,
it was widely viewed as our last chance to save Iraq from
spiraling into an irreversible descent toward chaos. The
consequences of failure then, as now, were severe.
Some leaders who opposed, criticized, and fought
tooth-and-nail to stop the surge strategy now proudly
claim credit for the results.
• One leader in the U.S. House of Representa-
tives declared the surge a failure before it was
even implemented.
• One leader in the United States Senate
said, and I quote – ‘this war is lost’ – while
additional forces were being mobilized.
• One lawmaker rejected the idea that the surge
would reduce violence in Iraq, saying – and
again I’m quoting – ‘in fact, I think it will do
the reverse.’
These are lawmakers who supported – and accepted
support from – an anti-war organization that ran a full
page ad in The New York Times smearing a four star
general, a commander of men and women in harm’s
way as “General Betray Us.”
These are sad facts.
Today we mark not the defeat those voices anticipated
– but progress.
And I want to thank President Obama for setting
aside his past political rhetoric and recognizing the
importance of the surge and the diplomatic agreement
signed by President Bush and Prime Minister Maliki.
At this hour, 50,000 U.S. troops are still in Iraq. For
those troops, and for their families, the war will not be
over until they come home. And though the mission
has changed, their work is no less critical.
For there is no stronger bulwark against the menace
posed by the Iranian regime or other extremist forces
21 Pillars of a New Majorit y | Nationa l S e curit y
in the region than a democratic Iraq. There is no greater
inspiration to moderate governments and reformers in
the region than a successful Iraq. And there is no better
argument against those who preach intolerance and
hatred than a free, stable, thriving Iraq.
Of course, true success in Iraq will be determined not by
the words politicians speak today, but by their actions
in the months and years ahead.
The hard truth is that Iraq will continue to remain
a target for those who hope to destroy freedom
and democracy.
The people of that nation – and this nation – deserve
to know what America is prepared to do if the cause
for which our troops sacrificed their lives in Iraq is
threatened. I hope the president will address that
question as early as tonight, when he speaks to the
nation, and the world.
Over the past several months, we’ve often heard about
ending the war in Iraq, but not much about winning
the war in Iraq. If we honor what our men and women
fought for, we cannot turn our backs now on what they
have achieved.
When we support our troops, we support them all the
way – there is no such thing as supporting our troops,
but not their mission.
Victory in Iraq was the only option in 2007 – and it is
the only option now.
The American Legion understands that, and the
American people understand that. That is why we are
here talking about our troops returning home in success
instead of gradual surrender.
Of course, too many of our own have returned home
from Iraq to be laid to rest. Their sacrifices have not
been in vain, and I know Legionnaires give their all to
ensure that the families of the fallen are held up in our
hearts and deeds.
Staff Sergeant Daniel Clay is one of our fallen heroes. His
wife, Lisa Bell Clay, once worked in my congressional
office. Sergeant Clay was one of our United States
Marines killed in Fallujah in 2006.
He left behind a letter to his family to be read in case of
his death. In the letter, Sergeant Clay wrote: ‘What we
have done in Iraq is worth any sacrifice. Why? Because
it was our duty. That sounds simple. But all of us have
a duty. Duty is defined as a God-given task. Without
duty, life is worthless.’
This Marine understood his duty to God and country.
We as elected leaders must understand ours as well.
Commitments to Our Troops
Our troops in harm’s way should never have to doubt
Congress’s commitment to supporting their mission.
When asked to provide our troops in harm’s way with
the resources they need, we should do so without delay.
That means no more troop funding bills held up by
unrelated, extraneous domestic spending and pork
barrel projects.
We need a Congress that understands when we send our
sons and daughters to risk all in defense of our security
– victory is the only option – and we will do whatever
it takes to provide them with the necessary support so
they can return home swiftly and successfully.
No voice – no matter how strong or committed – can
substitute for the voice of the Commander-in-Chief.
That is why the president must take the time to
articulate in a coherent, consistent matter to their
families and fellow citizens the cause, purpose, and goal
of their mission.
These imperatives should not be communicated in
the manner of ‘checking a box.’ These missions should
not be bunched together among a laundry list of
political challenges.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan is not just one of ‘two wars’ – it is central to
the global struggle against extremism and intolerance.
The border Afghanistan shares with Pakistan is a virtual
command and control center where al Qaeda leaders
plan and plot their attacks against the United States
and its allies.
Afghanistan must be resistant to the forces of
extremism hell bent on returning to power and it must
be resistant to becoming a potential safe haven for
terrorist organizations.
I support our counterinsurgency strategy in
Afghanistan, but the president must do more to
emphasize his commitment to ensuring its success rather
than focusing on arbitrary deadlines for withdrawal.
And he must also place a greater emphasis on ensuring
successful implementation of both the military and
civilian components of his strategy.
Using campaign promises as a yardstick to measure
success in Iraq and Afghanistan runs the risk of triggering
artificial victory laps and premature withdrawal dates
unconnected to conditions on the ground.
After years of hard fighting – which has come at a high
price – we cannot afford to underestimate the impact
our domestic debates and political hedging have on
decisions made by friend and foe alike.
If we are successful in accomplishing our goals in
Afghanistan, it will be because of the endurance,
discipline, and patience of our troops. I know the
American Legion joins me in expressing gratitude to
our men and women serving in Afghanistan.
Confronting and Defeating the
Terrorist Threat
The United States certainly cannot afford to think
short-term when our enemies have proven time and
again they are in it for the long haul.
This is a war that began well before the tragic events of
9/11 – it is a war the American people did not seek, and
did not start. This is an enemy that first tried to blow
up the World Trade Center in 1993. This is an enemy
that then took its desire to kill Americans abroad – to
Riyadh in 1995, to Khobar Towers in 1996, to East
Africa in 1998, and to the U.S.S. Cole off the coast of
Yemen in 2000.
This is an enemy that seeks to impose a pernicious legal
code and wills the death and destruction of anyone
who opposes them.
 Before 9/11, the United States treated terrorism like
a law enforcement issue. We handled each incident
as separate and unique, content with investigating
after the fact rather than focusing on preventing the
attack. We characterized the perpetrators as criminals
to be tried and contained, rather than terrorists to be
deterred and defeated.
We see signs of a return to this pre-9/11 mentality in
proposals to house terrorists on American soil just to
fulfill a political promise.
The American people were told last year that keeping
open the Guantanamo Bay Prison, which houses
the worst of the worst, served as a rallying cry for
our enemies.
We were told that closing the detention facilities and
importing the remaining terrorists into the United
States would diminish the threat.
And then, starting with a plot to blow up the Manhattan
subway system last September, we witnessed four
terrorist incidents on U.S. soil in an eight-month
period – including the Fort Hood shooting….the
attempted Christmas Day bombing….and the failed
Times Square bombing.
Each of these attacks represented new strands
of terrorism. Each of these terrorists received
varying degrees of support, but all had ties to
international terrorist organizations and their radical
extremist platforms.
Now more than ever, the American people deserve
every assurance that their government has the right
legal authorities and the right mindset in place to
prevent future attacks.
Just days ago, the Justice Department announced it
would not be pursuing charges against the terrorist who
allegedly coordinated the bombing of the USS Cole.
This is no garden variety terrorist. This is a terrorist who
has the blood of 17 American sailors on his hands. This
is a terrorist who worked hand in hand with one of the
9/11 hijackers.
The commander of the Cole, who has fought for justice
alongside the families of the fallen sailors, has said the
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Obama Administration is blatantly playing politics
with this issue.
When it comes to holding those who kill innocent
Americans responsible for their heinous acts, politics
should be the last thing on our mind.
Over the course of the last 20 months, it is clear our
country’s overarching detention policy has been lost. We
do not know the parameters for when, how, and under
what circumstances we will capture, solicit information
from, and detain illegal enemy combatants.
We are a nation at war. A patchwork of political
promises does not represent a coherent strategy to
confront and defeat the terrorist threat.
We need a Congress that will hold our government
accountable for an overarching capture, detention and
interrogation policy. And we need a Congress that
will use every tool at its disposal to keep terrorists off
U.S. soil.
Stopping at nothing to confront and defeat the terrorist
threat – that is how we can best protect the American
people and set an example for the world.
Ideas Matter
Our missions in Iraq and Afghanistan are also critical
to maintaining America’s centuries-old role as a selfless
beacon of freedom and hope.
For America did not become ‘the last, best hope of
man’ by accident or by force. It was a choice – a choice
first made by revolutionaries who faced down what was
then the most powerful empire in the world.
During his second Inaugural Address, President
Lincoln talked about how the Union did not seek to
make war, but chose to accept war in freedom’s defense
rather than letting the nation perish.
And at the height of our test of wills against Soviet
Communism, President Reagan reaffirmed America’s
commitment to a genuine peace, but made certain the
Evil Empire knew that “we will never compromise our
principles and our standards, and we will never give
away our freedom.”
Ideas matter.
When reports of President Reagan’s words reached the
Siberian gulags, the Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky
tapped them out to his fellow prisoners in code.
Years later, when finally he was free and his oppressors
had been tossed to the ash heap of history, Sharansky
visited the Oval Office. And he urged President Reagan
to keep giving his speeches, so that others who aspired
to liberty could hear his call to arms.
President Reagan’s rhetoric rang out to another
dissident, an electrician by the name of Lech Walesa,
who shaped the Solidarity movement that caused one
of the first dents in the Iron Curtain.
When President Reagan died – 15 years after the
Berlin Wall came down – Walesa wrote in America’s
newspapers that “we in Poland took him so personally.
Why? Because we owe him our liberty.”
Margaret Thatcher said of President Reagan: he took
words and sent them out to fight for us.
What words are being sent out now from our
government to fight for the cause of freedom and
democracy? What words does a prisoner in Cuba’s
gulag or a freedom fighter in Iran hear?
Or those who are struggling to hold onto newly
formed democracies in places such as Georgia or
the democracies in our own hemisphere threatened
by Venezuela?
And if the prisoners of Belarus or North Korea hear
nothing – if it is silence that echoes in their cells rather
than the firm words of America’s support – if they hear
nothing, will they one day be able to sit in the Oval
Office or write in the pages of a free media to thank an
American president?
Never forget that America remains the only nation on
the face of the Earth founded on an idea, not an identity
– an idea that free people can govern themselves, and
that government’s powers are endowed only through
the consent of the governed.
An idea that the rights of all will be respected and
protected, and that no one’s opportunity to pursue
happiness will be limited.
If America will not stand with freedom-loving peoples
and those who seek to be free from evil – whether in
the guise of petty tyranny, radical Islam, or any Marxist
regime – then who on this Earth will?
Ideas matter. Our government must reawaken itself to
the task of providing a more robust defense of freedom
and liberty.
Because when America does not articulate these
enduring values in a forceful, consistent manner –
when we do not send these words out to fight for us
– we cause turmoil and confusion.
Our enemies take this as a sign of weakness or a
dimming of our belief in ourselves.
Our allies see cause to be uncertain and unsettled about
what role the United States will play in the future.
When we do not speak out, our deeds are left to speak
for themselves.
Every time we make a concession to countries acting
against our national interests…every time we ignore or
snub the commitments, shared values, and sacrifices of
our allies…we pay a price.
Iran and Israel
As we gather here, Iran is working to develop a nuclear
weapons program. Contrary to the wishful thinking
of some, the Iranian regime is capable of doing a cost-
benefit analysis of pursuing these weapons in the face of
international isolation.
Iran is more than prepared to sacrifice the well-being
of its people for the chance to fundamentally change
the balance of power in the region. It is the true source
of instability in the region, and we must not naively
assume a nuclear-armed Iran would be containable.
The destinies of Iran and Israel are often inter-linked,
with good reason. Israel is an island of freedom
surrounded by a sea of oppression and hate, surrounded
by enemies who seek its destruction.
 Israel is on the front lines of the ideological and
violent clash we are confronting. The attacks against
it – whether through acts of violence, international
criticism, or manipulation of laws of war – are often the
vanguard of what our country will face.
America has stood by Israel since Harry Truman sat in
the Oval Office. Our commitment to this long-standing
friendship should be no less strong today.
Where I come from, you stick by your friends, you stick
by people who share your values. You do not send a
message of strength to your enemies by shunning your
friends and allies.
The foreign policy of the United States should not be
built on a platform of apologies, corrections, and reset
buttons. We will not confront and defeat the terrorist
threat by blurring America’s exceptionalism and backing
out on America’s commitments.
Closing
Our nation has paid a tremendously high cost these last
nine years at war, and our military personnel and their
families have paid the highest price.
You have done it. Your comrades have died for it. Our
troops risk all for it.
All you’ve asked for, and all they ask for, is the full
support of their elected leaders, and so long as I have
anything to say about it – I give you my word – they
will have it.
High atop the United States Capitol Dome stands the
Statue of Freedom, completed in 1863 during some
of the darkest and most divisive days in the history of
our country.
What I love most about the Statue of Freedom is that
she faces to the east … because the sun never sets on
freedom’s face.
The sun never sets on an idea America pioneered…an
idea America has championed…an idea generations of
Americans have fought and died for, incurring a debt
this nation can never fully repay.
Thank you. God bless you, God bless your families, and
God bless America.

We have had heart-wrenching debates regarding how

best to address these challenges. These debates have left
scar tissue – between parties and ideologies – but the
challenges we face know neither.

We have serious decisions to make regarding our

path forward, and these decisions will be made in
an environment in which we borrow 41 cents of
every dollar we spend. This means we must focus on
working together to identify our national security
priorities and ensure our continued military and
economic superiority.

Just as America’s founding was a choice, maintaining its

greatness is a choice as well.

Today, we choose to do what needs to be done – to do

what we know to be right – and to never accept the
next best thing for our families, for our country, and
for freedom.

These are articles of faith worth fighting to the last for.

25 Pillars of a New Majorit y | Nationa l S e curit y

 Congressional Reform
Remarks at American Enterprise Institute (AEI),
Washington, DC, September 2010

“The mission of the United States Congress is to serve the American people
– and today, due in part to institutional barriers that have been in place for
decades, that mission goes unfulfilled. These wounds have been self-inflicted
by both parties, and if we do not fix them, it’s possible no one will.”

– John Boehner

27 Pillars of a New Majorit y | Congressional Reform

Remarks by House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH)
on Congressional Reform
As Prepared for Delivery
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, Washington, DC
September 30, 2010
G ood afternoon. Thank you, Chris, for the warm
welcome.
I’d like to begin by telling you a story. Some years ago
back in Ohio, while I was working my way through
night school at Xavier University, I started a small
business. Sadly, about six months after we got up and
running, my partner in the venture died suddenly.
And we had one customer at the time. So there I
was, with two years left at Xavier, and I was trying to
hold this business together – the little bit that was
still there. And, let me tell you, I fought for it with
everything I had.
Looking back on it now, what strikes me is that I never
thought about walking away. This was something
I invested my name and my money in. And I had
an obligation to that paying customer, as well as
my partner who had also put his time and energy
into the business.
Today, I feel the same sense of obligation and
determination when I look at what’s happened to
our government.
Because listen, I’ve been here nearly twenty years, so
I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. And lately,
there’s been plenty of ugly. Americans have every right
to be fed up – they do.
But what I won’t accept – what I refuse to accept – is
that we can simply walk away and let our government
continue to drift – this government our forbears
sacrificed everything to build.
The mission of the United States Congress is to serve
the American people -- and today, due in part to
institutional barriers that have been in place for decades,
that mission goes unfulfilled.
These wounds have been self-inflicted by both parties,
and if we do not fix them, it’s possible no one will. In
the Constitution, the House of Representatives is the
first institution of the first branch of government –
the body closest to the people. That is an awesome
responsibility. We should take pride in it, and be
humbled by it. The House, more than any other part of
our government, is the most direct voice of the people
-- and therefore should be afforded the most care in
protecting its ability to reflect the people’s will.
So today I’d like to talk to you about why this
institution is broken and how we make it function
again. Because until it does, ladies and gentlemen, we
don’t stand a chance of addressing our deepest and most
pressing problems.
Collapse of the 111th Congress
Just look at how the 111th Congress is not so much
concluding as it is collapsing. Instead of tallying
up a final flurry of legislative output, observers and
constituents are asking, ‘what went wrong?’
The answers would come easy to the people in this room,
but the hard truth for families and small businesses is
that their problems continue to go unaddressed.
This week, we had -- in my view -- an obligation to bring
both parties together and stop massive tax increases
scheduled to take effect on January 1st -- increases we
have seen coming for two years now. And, even with
the existence of a clear bipartisan majority and the
support of the American people, we could not get a
simple up-or-down vote.
It’s a sad, but not altogether surprising, finale to this
Congress, and the latest in a long string of congressional
sessions that have frayed the fragile bonds of trust
between the American people and their legislature.
The House finds itself in a state of emergency. The
institution does not function, does not deliberate,
and seems incapable of acting on the will of the
people. From the floor to the committee level, the
integrity of the House has been compromised. The
battle of ideas – the very lifeblood of the House – is
virtually nonexistent.
Leaders overreach because the rules allow them to.
Legislators duck their responsibilities because the
rules help them to. And when the rules don’t suit the
majority’s purposes, they are just ignored.
 There’s no accountability, and there are no conse-
quences. Whether we here in Washington believe this
or not, the people clearly do. Think about how our
constant flouting of the rules sits with a small busi-
ness owner who has to spend his or her day complying
with all the mandates and regulations our government
sends down.
The dysfunction in Congress is not new; both parties
bear the blame for it. But the dysfunction has now
reached a tipping point -- a point at which none of us
can credibly deny that it is having a negative impact on
the people we serve. Consider:
• This is the first time since enactment of the
Budget Act in 1974 that the House has not
passed a budget resolution.
• This Congress is the first in our history that
has not allowed one bill to be considered
under an open amendment process – not one.
The current freshman class has served an
entire term in Congress without ever having
operated under an open rule.
• And use of ‘martial law’ – which gives the
majority the power to bring up any bill at any
time and strips the minority of its few rights
– has nearly doubled.
The three pillars of any democracy are the rule of law,
transparency, and a functioning civil society. Over
decades, all three of these pillars have been chipped
away in the people’s House.
The work of making our institution function again
cannot be reduced to one reform or toolkit of reforms.
It will require a sustained effort that rests on the three
pillars and firmly adheres to the job description laid out
in Article I of the Constitution.
Rule of Law
First, the rule of law. We always hear members of
Congress talking about swearing an oath to represent
their constituents when in reality the only oath we
take is to the Constitution. We pledge “to support
and defend the Constitution of the United States.” No
more, no less.
29 Pillars of a New Majorit y | Congressional Reform
But we have strayed far afield from our job description.
Members go out and promise their constituents the
moon, and to try and fulfill those commitments, they
agree to conform to a system that emphasizes seniority
and party loyalty. The ropes they are shown lead to
passing more bills, micromanaging more bureaucracies,
and raiding the federal treasury.
That is why, in the Pledge to America, the governing
agenda my colleagues and I issued last week, we state
that every bill that comes to the floor of the House
should contain a clear citation of constitutional
authority. If we cannot do this much – we should put
down the pen and stop right there.
Congress has been most maligned over the past
generation for its fiscal recklessness, and rightly
so. Mindful of the dangers of ‘taxation without
representation,’ the Framers handed the power to tax
and spend to the legislative branch exclusively. It’s right
there in Article I, Section 9.
But having the right to do something doesn’t necessarily
make it the right thing to do. Current congressional
rules are rigged to make it easy to increase spending and
next-to-impossible to cut spending. Much of the law
that governs the process – the Budget Act of 1974 –
is tied to rules instead of statutes. Consequently, we
routinely waive the Budget Act’s requirements to serve
our purposes. Can’t write a budget? Just waive the rule
and move on. No harm, no foul.
The “pay as you go” rule has been repeatedly ignored to
justify billions of dollars in new spending and tax and
fee increases. So we ought to start at square one and
give serious consideration to re-visiting, and perhaps
re-writing, the 1974 Budget Act.
While the culture of spending stems largely from a
lack of political will in both parties to say ‘no,’ it is also
the consequence of what I believe to be a structural
problem. As Kevin McCarthy often says, structure
dictates behavior. Aided by a structure that facilitates
spending increases and discourages spending cuts,
the inertia in Washington is currently to spend -- and
spend -- and spend. Most spending bills come to the
floor prepackaged in a manner that makes it as easy
as possible to advance government spending and
programs, and as difficult as possible to make cuts.
Again, this is not a new problem. But if we’re serious
about confronting the challenges that lie ahead for our
nation, it’s totally inadequate.
I propose today a different approach. Let’s do away
with the concept of “comprehensive” spending bills.
Let’s break them up, to encourage scrutiny, and make
spending cuts easier. Rather than pairing agencies and
departments together, let them come to the House
floor individually, to be judged on their own merit.
Members shouldn’t have to vote for big spending
increases at the Labor Department in order to fund
Health and Human Services. Members shouldn’t have
to vote for big increases at the Commerce Department
just because they support NASA. Each department
and agency should justify itself each year to the full
House and Senate, and be judged on its own.
For decades, the word “comprehensive” has been used as
a positive adjective in Washington. I would respectfully
submit that those days are behind us. The American
people are not well-served by “comprehensive.” In an
era of trillion-dollar deficits, we need a tighter focus;
one that places an emphasis on getting it right, and less
emphasis on getting it done quickly.
Don’t assume I’m singling out the appropriators; I’m
not. Over decades, in my view, authorizing committees
in the House and Senate have also abdicated their
responsibility, often authorizing billions of dollars
knowing full well they will never actually be
appropriated. Interest groups then lobby Congress
to “fully fund” the program, systematically creating
pressure on the legislature to drive up spending. This
has to stop. Authorizing Committees should be held
to the same standard as the appropriations committee:
authorize what we can afford, and hold agencies to
account for results.
We should also consider developing a “cut as you go”
rule that would apply to any member proposing the
creation of new government programs or benefits.
Very simply, under this “CutGO” rule, if it is your
intention to create a new government program, you
must also terminate or reduce spending on an existing
government program of equal or greater size – in the
very same bill.
Just this week, the majority leadership brought 85
different suspension bills to the floor on a single day
-- many of them creating new government programs,
some of which had been subject to little if any scrutiny
or debate. If we’d had a “CutGO” rule in place this
week, roughly half of these 85 bills would never have
made it to the floor.
CutGO was conceived by my friend and colleague Roy
Blunt. And as he put it, “let’s turn the activists for big
government on each other, instead of letting them gang
up on the taxpayer.” Through this public discussion,
we might end up finding out that neither program has
a whole lot of merit in the first place. It may sound
simplistic, but sometimes that’s the best place to start.
Of course, no amount of spending control can substitute
for the critical role of oversight. We should direct every
committee to make its oversight responsibilities a top
priority, and to make no apologies for it. Both parties
should work together to ensure each program is meeting
congressional intent and serving the national interest.
Republicans should not start from the assumption that
all government is bad; nor should Democrats start from
the assumption that all government is good. Oversight
should be conducted by uniform standards:
• What’s the purpose of this program?
• What’s its’ responsibility?
• Is this the best use of taxpayers’ time and money?
Of course, if we’re truly serious about being responsible
again on spending, we need to do something about
earmarks.
As we know too well, earmarks are the often-
questionable spending projects that are slipped into
bills with little scrutiny. They run the gamut from
bridges to nowhere and “monuments to me to sewer
projects and art exhibits. They ride on authorizing bills,
appropriations bills, and tax bills. An entire lobbying
industry has been created around them. And they’ve
become a symbol of a spending process that has broken
faith with the American people.
House Republicans voted to stop the process this year
-- on our own, without cooperation from Democrats
-- so that we could begin reforming how Washington
spends taxpayers’ money.
 Like the decision to adopt the moratorium in the first
place, the future of the moratorium will be a collective
decision, made by our members. But on the question
of earmarking, my colleagues and my constituents
know where I stand. I told my constituents in 1990:
if you believe it’s important to have a representative
who will go to Washington and raid the federal
Treasury on your behalf, you should probably vote for
someone else. I’ve had a personal ‘no earmarks’ policy
since I began serving in Congress, and I always will.
I believe it is our obligation to end earmarking as we
know it and bring fundamental change to the manner
in which Washington spends taxpayers’ money,
and I will continue to be an advocate for reforms to
ensure that happens.
Functioning Civil Society
One of the reasons why we do not have a functioning
civil society in the House is that our efforts are geared
towards catering to the individual member instead of
focusing on our collective responsibility to govern. The
rules are too often manipulated to shut down debate
and protect individual members from tough votes.
In recent years -- and not just under the current
majority -- the minority has been forced to use the
motion to recommit, often in ways that are painful for
the majority, to ensure the minority’s voice is heard.
And in turn, the majority has responded by conjuring
up new ways to shut the minority out even further. It’s
a cycle of gridlock.
Here’s my question: what are we so afraid of ?
The more we do to avoid risk and protect our members
from tough votes, the more ineffective and polarized
the institution becomes. The House was designed to
reflect our natural contentiousness as a people. That’s
the genius of our system.
So instead of clamping down even further, it’s my view
that we should open things up and let the battle of ideas
help break down the scar tissue between the two parties.
Yes, we will still have disagreements. But let’s have them
out in the open. Yes, we will still try to outmaneuver each
other. But let’s make it a fair fight. Instead of selling our
Members short, let’s give them a chance to do their jobs.
Let’s let legislators legislate again.
31 Pillars of a New Majorit y | Congressional Reform
Again, structure dictates behavior. More debate and
more amendments will mean more intense scrutiny,
and ultimately, better legislation.
Just as we’ve shielded members from tough votes,
we’ve also enabled them to write bad bills. With all
the challenges facing our nation, it is absurd that
Congress spends so much time on naming post offices,
congratulating sports teams, and celebrating the
birthdays of historical figures.
Now, I know the drill: members get good press
opportunities back home and leaders get cover while
stalling on the people’s priorities. But often these
resolutions are poorly drafted, or duplicative of
previously considered bills. And under both parties
they’ve received little or no oversight. It’s my view that
we should consider taking all these commemorative
moments and special honors, and handle them during
special orders and one-minute speeches. It’s time to
focus on doing what we were sent here to do.
The ultimate measure of whether we have a functioning
house is not bipartisanship. Our focus shouldn’t be on
working across party lines for its own sake. The true
test is whether our ideas, policies, and values are able
to stand the test of a fair debate and a fair vote. And
sadly, that’s something we have not seen in the House
for some time.
Transparency
Of course, it’s hard to guarantee a fair debate when
the majority has the ability to change bills in the
dark of night and literally drop them into the laps of
the minority just hours before debate is set to start.
Without transparency, lawmakers cannot hold each
other accountable, and the American people cannot
hold us to account.
That’s why in the Pledge to America we say that the
text of all bills should be published online for at least
three days before coming up for a vote. No exceptions.
No excuses.
But this lack of transparency speaks to a larger
problem where the Speaker’s office has the capacity to
unilaterally draft a bill and send it straight through to the
Rules Committee.
Woodrow Wilson once said that ‘Congress in session
is Congress on public exhibition, while Congress in
its committee rooms is Congress at work.’ If Wilson
went from committee room to committee room today,
he might take that statement back. Because the truth
is, much of the work of committees has been co-opted
by the leadership. In too many instances, we no longer
have legislators; we just have voters.
In my view, if we want to make legislators legislate again,
then we need to empower them at the committee level.
If Members were more engaged in their committee
work, they would be more invested in the final products
that come to the floor.
From 2001 to 2006, I had the privilege to serve as
chairman of the Education & Workforce committee.
The ranking member at the time was George Miller
of California. Now, no one would confuse me and
George Miller for ideological soulmates. But in just a
few years, we were able to work together to transform
our committee from a “backwater” panel that nobody
wanted to be on to an active panel at the center of some
of the biggest issues of the day. By focusing on our work,
letting our members be legislators, and setting high
standards, we were able to elevate the committee to its
proper role. There’s no reason every single committee
in the House can’t achieve the same thing.
Much of this is up to committee chairmen and ranking
members themselves. If every chairman and ranking
member started with the mindset that their committee’s
bill could be the one that comes to the floor, better
legislation would result. Chairmen shouldn’t be
content to churn out flawed bills and then rely on
their leadership to bail them out. Chairmen should
operate with the assumption that their bills are going
to be on the floor, and assume that once their bills are
on the floor, they’ll be subject to an open rule. If all
committee chairmen and ranking members had this
mentality, the result would be better legislation, and
better legislators.
At Education and Workforce, we operated with a set
of transparency rules that encouraged deliberation and
limited problems:
• First, we gave at least three days notice on all
bills. Actually, we normally went above and
beyond this standard, giving about a week’s
notice on each bill, but three days was the
rule. That gave Members plenty of time to
gain an appropriate depth of knowledge and
scrub each bill for potential landmines.
• We also required that all votes be posted
online within 48 hours of being cast. Believe
it or not, committees are not currently
required to post these records at all, let alone
within a certain time frame. If we posted
these records online, more Members would
be inclined to do their jobs, attend committee
proceedings, and weigh in on a bill before it
goes to the floor.
• And third, any amendments had to be
posted online within 24 hours after being
adopted. We have seen in the past instances
where ‘phantom amendments’ are made
to bills in committee after being voted on
without any accountability whatsoever.
That’s not acceptable.
We should require that all committees meet these
standards. We should also require that all committees
– especially the Rules Committee – webcast their
proceedings and post complete transcripts online –
with obvious exceptions for those panels dealing with
state secrets and classified information.
To ensure there is proper oversight, Congress should
also review its internal committee structure and
eliminate duplicative programs and jurisdictions. This
hasn’t been done in 15 years. Think about that. We
can’t ask members to become more engaged if they sit
on three different committees and more than a handful
of subcommittees. We currently have rules regarding
member limitations, but of course they’re frequently
waived to have warm bodies in those slots. We need
to rethink that.
An Ongoing and Inclusive Effort
I know I’ve covered a lot of ground here, and thrown
out a lot of ideas. Some of them may get off the ground
in the next Congress; others may not. But it’s vital
that we have the discussion, and equally vital that the
discussion start now.
 Reform should be an ongoing and inclusive effort. I
don’t have all the answers, and wouldn’t pretend to. I
welcome ideas and helping hands from any lawmaker
or citizen about how we can make this institution
function again.
Americans who long for a better government must
continue to speak out. And when they do, we
have to listen.
Let that be our goal: a people’s House that is
quiet in its effectiveness, but unmistakable in its
pride and purpose.
We should pursue this work as if the future of the
institution depended on it – because it does.
Thank you for having me. I look forward to taking
your questions.

The People’s House

Don’t confuse my enthusiasm for any illusion about

how well these reforms will be received. I can remember
early on in my career, as a member of the ‘Gang of
Seven,’ how I would get long stares from Members
– many of them in my own party. Some would walk
the other way. Some would put themselves directly
in my face.

That’s probably the reaction I’ll get to some of the things

I’ve talked about here today. But some changes have to
be made, and we can’t keep kicking the can down the
road. We’ve run out of road.

It’s time to do what we say we’re going to do. For

our constituents, our government, and the people’s
House, settling for the ‘next best thing’ is no longer
good enough.

Exactly one hundred years ago, Uncle Joe Cannon –

who ruled the House with an iron fist – faced a revolt
from insurgent Republicans and Democrats. Even
though his fall from power was imminent, Speaker
Cannon refused to resign, calling it a ‘confession of
weakness or mistake or an apology.’ That right there
was Cannon’s mistake. That gavel, those powers – they
weren’t his to use as a personal guard or shield. They
were given to him to guard and shield the interests of
the American people.

So the Speakership foundered over the next decade,

until late 1925, when Nick Longworth told the House
on the day he was sworn in: ‘I want to effectively assist
you in bringing about universal recognition of the fact
that this House, closer as it is to the people than any
similar body and more directly responsive to their will,
is in very truth, as it ought to be, the most dominant
legislative assembly in the world.’

33 Pillars of a New Majorit y | Congressional Reform

 A New Way Forward
Speech to American Workers & Constituents
West Chester, OH, October 2010

“To help our economy create jobs, we have to stop all of the coming tax hikes
and cut spending -- and to cut spending, we need to change Congress itself.
My friends, this is a new way forward that hasn’t been tried in Washington.
The Pledge to America is a break not only from the direction in which
President Obama is headed, but also a break from the direction Republicans
were headed when we last had the opportunity to govern. And I can promise
you: if we’re entrusted with the opportunity to govern, we are going to do
things differently. The American people deserve nothing less, and we will
accept nothing less. I will accept nothing less.”

– John Boehner

35 P i l l a r s o f a N e w M a j o r i t y | A N e w Wa y F o r w a r d
Remarks by House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH)
to American Workers & Constituents
NOTE: Written text may differ slightly from spoken remarks.
United Group Services, Butler County, Ohio
Friday, October 8, 2010
T
hanks, Mark, for that warm introduction.
And thank you all for joining me today. I’m
happy to be here with you.
Now some of may know this, but I grew up working
in my dad’s tavern just a few miles down the road from
here. I mopped floors, waited tables, and tended bar.
I put myself through college by working odd jobs and
night shifts, and eventually ran my own small business.
Back before I was representing the people of the
8th District of Ohio in the House of Representatives,
I was representing manufacturers in the packaging and
plastics industry.
It wasn’t always the most glamorous work. But, like
millions of other Americans who’ve run a small business,
we poured heart and soul into making it successful.
We got passionate about things like supplying
component parts for a brand new, state-of-the-art
industrial broom.
Yeah. . .that broom was virtually indestructible. I still
feel a little twinge of pride when I think about it.
Now, you might chuckle about that. And sure, if you
weren’t around to witness it, this might seem a little
mundane. But to me back then, it meant the world.
It meant putting food on the table for my wife and kids,
and presents around the tree at Christmas.
It meant jobs and secure benefits for my employees.
It meant security for the present, and hope for
the future.
Every American who takes pride in their work can
relate to that. Whether you push a mop, run a backhoe,
lay shingles, tend bar, or even serve in the United States
Congress - we Americans take pride in our jobs.
I did all of those things. I’ve had every quote-unquote
“rotten job” you can think of -- and I’ll tell you what, I
was grateful to have every one of them.
Let me be crystal clear, it if isn’t clear already: this
speech is about jobs. And this speech is about jobs,
because this coming election is about jobs.
It’s about the jobs that were promised to the
American people by the current administration, and
never delivered.
It’s about the jobs our economy should be creating right
now, but isn’t creating, because of the policies coming
out of our Congress.
It’s about the jobs our children deserve in the future,
but may never have because Washington is burying
them in a legacy of debt.
This morning we got the latest national jobs report
from the U.S. Department of Labor.
It looks a lot like the reports we’ve seen every month
since President Obama signed his “stimulus” spending
bill into law. Unemployment is high. Millions are out
of work. Private-sector job creation is flat.
That’s what you got for your 787 billion dollars. Record
high unemployment. A bigger government. And an
economy struggling to create jobs.
This upcoming election is a referendum. As Americans,
we have to decide: do we want another two years
of job-killing policies out of Washington? Or have
we had enough?
I’m a small businessman at heart. Always will be.
Running a small business here in Butler County was
one of the proudest times of my life. And it gave me
a perspective on our country that I’ve carried with me
throughout my time in public service.
Family-owned operations like my dad’s tavern, and
small businesses like mine and United Group Services,
are what power the American economy.
They employ a quarter of the workers in our country
and created the majority of new jobs over the last
decade.
 Small businesses like these are essential to the American
Dream. And right now that Dream is under siege.
I ran for Congress back in 1990 because of what I saw
happening to small businesses in America.
I got tired of watching Washington strangle the goose
that laid the golden egg.
The federal government was getting too big, too
intrusive, and too expensive.
Politicians who had no understanding of the private
sector talked about the importance of creating jobs,
and then forced policies on American small businesses
that made job creation harder.
Elected officials with no understanding of how our
economy works spent money with reckless abandon,
running up the deficit and telling us we could pay for
it all by raising taxes.
It was clear they believed the engine of prosperity in
America is government itself.
The thinking went like this: if you want more jobs, then
spend more money. Collect more taxes, and redistribute
them from the federal level. Make government bigger.
If you’ve been paying any attention at all to the Obama
Administration, this thinking may sound familiar.
It’s not “new.” In fact there’s nothing “new” about it.
And anyone who’s ever created a private sector job in
America can tell you it is dead wrong.
The truth of the matter is, our economy is built
on freedom.
You don’t get to prosperity by taking freedom away from
the people who create jobs. You achieve prosperity by
getting government out of their way.
The greatest threat to job creation in our country is the
flawed idea that we can tax, spend and borrow our way
to prosperity.
The halls of power in our government right now are
filled with people stubbornly devoted to the tired old
idea that government can create prosperity by spending
and borrowing.
37 P i l l a r s o f a N e w M a j o r i t y | A N e w Wa y F o r w a r d
For the past four years they’ve been running Congress.
For the past 20 months, they’ve controlled our entire
government, from the White House to Capitol Hill.
And for the past 20 months, they’ve done everything
BUT focus on jobs.
Five hundred miles away from here in Washing-
ton, a spending binge is going on that threatens
our prosperity.
And small businesses, the engine of job creation in
America, are gripped by uncertainty. Under President
Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Washington
has been throwing everything at them but the
kitchen sink.
First it was a “stimulus” that shipped jobs overseas to
China instead of creating jobs here at home.
A few months later came the threat of a new national
energy tax called “cap and trade.”
Then there was Obamacare, with its unconsti-
tutional mandates and job-killing tax hikes and
paperwork requirements.
And now President Obama and his team are supporting
a tax hike that the nonpartisan Joint Committee on
Taxation says will raise taxes on 50 percent of the small
business income in America.
That means hundreds of thousands of private-sector
companies face the prospect of a job-killing tax hike on
January 1st. This company could be one of them.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is not what America asked
for when it entrusted Sen. Barack Obama with the
Oval Office.
The pink slips shouldn’t be going to workers here in
Ohio. They should be going to the members of Barack
Obama’s economic team.
At the health care summit last February, President
Obama told us it’s OK to have deep philosophical
differences and different visions for where we’d lead our
country. “That’s what elections are for,” he said.
Over the past two years the governing party in
Washington has been deeply committed to the tired
old notion that our nation can spend and borrow its
way back to prosperity.
Twenty months ago, Americans were told that if we’d
just have the courage to let the government borrow
about a trillion more dollars from our children and
grandchildren and then let Members of Congress and
bureaucrats sprinkle that money around the country,
magical things would happen.
Unemployment would go no higher than 8 percent,
they told us, and millions of new jobs would be created
immediately, most of them jobs in the private sector.
It didn’t happen.
The president and his allies went behind closed doors
and wrote the biggest pork-barrel spending bill in
American history.
They rushed it through Congress without giving
legislators the chance to read it, much less the
American people.
They mocked us for asking for more time to let
Americans see what was actually in the bill, and told
us we were committing political suicide by opposing
it. My colleagues and I stood united, together, and
voted no.
They promised all the spending would “stimulate” the
economy and create jobs right away.
It didn’t happen.
Asked to change his economic team and stop the
spending spree in Washington, the president refused,
promoted one of the architects of his failed “stimulus”
policies, and requested more “stimulus” spending for
next year.
Americans said “stop.” But no one stopped. The
president and his party just kept on spending.
The same thing happened on health care.
The president and his allies promised Americans a
health care bill that would lower health care costs. They
also promised nobody would be forced out of their
current health care plan. The president said “if you like
your current health care plan, you can keep it.”
It didn’t happen. The Obama administration’s own
chief actuary for Medicare and Medicaid says the
president’s health care law doesn’t lower costs; it raises
them. And millions of Americans are about to be
forced out of their health care plans.
The American people asked President Obama and
Nancy Pelosi to scrap the health care bill and start
over on a smaller, common-sense plan our nation
could afford.
It didn’t happen. They ignored the people, and rammed
it through.
The people running Washington haven’t been listening.
The people say one thing, and their government
does another.
People keep asking me – John, what can we do
about it?
Well, my friends, as the president said: that’s what
elections are for.
Americans have been crystal clear about what they
want: more jobs, less spending, and a more open
Congress that respects and abides by the Constitution.
If those things are going to happen, then we need a new
majority in Congress that will stand up to President
Barack Obama and insist that he start listening to
the people.
Back in May, my colleagues and I launched a project
called America Speaking Out. The goal was to craft
a new governing agenda for America by listening to
the people.
We spent the whole summer doing that, here in the
8th District of Ohio and across the country. And two
weeks ago, we unveiled the product of that effort. We
call it A Pledge to America.
The Pledge is not an all-inclusive party platform. Nor is
it a long-range agenda to address every challenge under
the sun.
The Pledge is a set of first priorities – actions the
American people are demanding be taken right now.
Things we could do right now – today – if Nancy Pelosi
 would call the House back into session and bring them
to a vote.
There’s a job creation plan that starts with stopping
all the tax hikes and eliminating uncertainty for small
businesses like this one, to help them get back to
creating jobs.
We want to give small businesses a deduction equal to
20 percent of their income so they have the money to
start hiring.
There’s a plan to end the spending spree in Washington
that’s hurting our economy and hurting our
children’s future.
Our plan cuts spending immediately, back to pre-
stimulus, pre-bailout levels. Then we impose strict,
enforceable budget caps to keep things from getting
out of control again.
There’s a plan to repeal Obamacare and replace it with
common-sense reforms that will lower health care
costs instead of killing jobs and driving our country
into bankruptcy.
And there’s a plan to make changes to Congress itself.
The American people deserve the respect of being
allowed to read the bills the House is working on before
they come to a vote. The Pledge would guarantee them
that right.
The Pledge also calls for changes in House rules to make
spending cuts easier and spending hikes harder.
And we’re calling for an end to so-called “comprehensive”
bills that lump together issues that have nothing to do
with each other.
The very structure of Congress right now is rigged
in favor of spending. If we’re going to confront the
massive challenges that lie ahead for our country, the
American people understand this has to change.
The bottom line is this: to help our economy create
jobs, we have to stop all of the coming tax hikes and
cut spending -- and to cut spending, we need to change
Congress itself.
39 P i l l a r s o f a N e w M a j o r i t y | A N e w Wa y F o r w a r d
My friends, this is a new way forward that hasn’t been
tried in Washington.
The Pledge to America is a break not only from the
direction in which President Obama is headed, but also
a break from the direction Republicans were headed
when we last had the opportunity to govern.
And I can promise you: if we’re entrusted with the
opportunity to govern, we are going to do things
differently. The American people deserve nothing
less, and we will accept nothing less. I will accept
nothing less.
In the Preamble to the Pledge to America, we state:
“America is an inspiration to those who yearn to be free
and have the ability and the dignity to determine their
own destiny.
“Whenever the agenda of government becomes
destructive of these ends, it is the right of the
people to institute a new governing agenda and set a
different course.
“These first principles were proclaimed in the
Declaration of Independence, enshrined in the
Constitution, and have endured through hard sacrifice
and commitment by generations of Americans.
“In a self-governing society, the only bulwark against
the power of the state is the consent of the governed,
and regarding the policies of the current government,
the governed do not consent.”
Ladies and gentlemen, your government hasn’t
been listening.
Your government is disrespecting you, your family, your
job, your children.
Your government is out of control.
Do you have to accept it? Do you have to take it?
Hell no you don’t! That’s what elections are for!
In Common Sense, Thomas Paine wrote that “we have
it in our power to begin the world over again.”
In just 25 days, voters will have a chance to do just that.
And I’m not just talking about Republican voters.
Republicans, independents, discerning Democrats –
all of us have a chance to come together and put our
country back on track.

We can start over.

We can help small businesses get back to creating jobs.

We can cut spending. And we can fundamentally
change the way Washington does business.

It starts with putting a new majority in charge of the

United States Congress on November 2nd, and sending
Nancy Pelosi back to San Francisco.

Here in the 8th District of Ohio and across our nation,

Americans are speaking out like never before.

I’m honored and humbled to represent this great

community in Congress, and I ask for the honor of
your vote again on November 2nd so we can give our
nation the fresh start it needs.

The government our children deserve is within our

grasp. It starts next month – and it starts with throwing
out the politicians who aren’t listening and giving a
chance to a new Congress that will.

Thank you very much. God Bless you.

“I can promise you: if we’re entrusted with the opportunity to govern, we are
going to do things differently. The American people deserve nothing less,
and we will accept nothing less. I will accept nothing less.”
– John Boehner
Paid for by Friends of John Boehner. www.JohnBoehner.com
Not printed at taxpayer expense.