John Boehner - 8th District of Ohio

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Oct 17, 2008

Washington - It’s bad enough that Congress had to pass a $700 billion economic rescue bill to clean up the mess that originated with Democrats’ coddling of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  But it turns out that Democratic leaders were just getting started on emptying your wallets for more big government spending.  They are now threatening to pass a $300 billion spending bill on, vowing that more spending is necessary to provide “stimulus” for our flagging economy.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) says Congress must make more “harsh” decisions to further address the economic challenges we face.  To that end, she and a small group of like-minded economists held a photo-op in the U.S. Capitol to discuss the unsavory options.  After their meeting, the Speaker emerged to make a somber announcement: Democrats have no choice by to spend as much as $300 billion more of your hard-earned tax dollars.

This is not a “harsh” decision.  This is more of the same: a business-as-usual approach to using your tax dollars to make the government bigger, less accountable to you and, in the end, not coming up with a single solution to our problems.

Nothing being discussed will stabilize our economy or ease our nation’s uncompetitive tax rates.  Nothing being discussed will bring a single dollar of private capital into our markets to help stabilize and restore Ohio families’ savings and retirement accounts.  And nothing being discussed will help small businesses create more jobs.

However, there are immediate steps that we could take to turn the corner toward real economic growth and real economic stimulus, not more government programs and more government intrusion into private business.

•    Enact a comprehensive “all of the above” energy strategy that allows new drilling in Alaska and deepwater ocean zones, promotes alternative and renewable fuels, and encourages efficiency and conservative.  Such reforms would create 1 million new jobs.

•    Suspend the capital gains tax (currently 15 percent for individuals and 35 percent for corporations) for equities purchased during the next two years to encourage investment.

•    Enact tax relief to encourage home purchases.  Currently, people can exclude up to $250,000 of capital gains ($500,000 for married couples filing jointly) on the sale of a home used as a primary residence in at least two of the last five years.  We should allow a similar exclusion for other homes purchased in the next 18 months and held for at least 5 years.  This could help take foreclosed properties off the market, raising home values.

•    Bring home American jobs by lowering the tax rate on profits companies bring back to the United States.  Currently, the nearly 10,000 U.S. companies that have overseas subsidiaries must pay a 35-percent tax (the second highest tax rate in the world) on profits earned overseas when they bring those profits home.  This encourages companies to leave their earnings overseas, meaning less money is available to keep Americans employed and to create new American jobs.

•    Lower tax rates for companies that purchase distressed assets to encourage American companies to assist with the financial recovery.  Corporations that agree to purchase some distressed assets should receive a temporary 10-percent percentage point cut in their tax rate.

•    Help seniors by suspending minimum Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) withdrawal rules.  Currently, individuals are required to being withdrawing from their IRAs six months after they reach age 70.  We should suspend this requirement to spare investors from being forced to sell their stocks when the market is low.  

Hard-working American families and those who have earned their retirements are hurting.  They’re not asking for pork-barrel spending masquerading as “stimulus.”  They’re asking for real reforms that will create jobs, lower energy costs and let them keep more of their own paychecks.  House Republicans stand ready to work to enact such reforms.  We also stand ready to fight any frivolous and irresponsible “stimulus” schemes devised by politicians and bankrolled by taxpayers.

Boehner represents Ohio’s 8th District, which includes all of Darke, Miami and Preble counties, most of Butler and Mercer counties, and the northeastern corner of Montgomery County.  He was first elected to Congress in 1990.