Boehner: Taxpayer Tea Parties a Sign That Americans Have Had Enough of Washington’s Taxing, Spending, and Borrowing

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) issued the following statement on Tax Day 2009:

“April 15th has long been and always will be a day American workers and their families despise – and rightfully so. It is the symbol of a government that has grown too big, too costly, and too arrogant, as it asks Americans for more and more of their hard-earned money to pay for wasteful government programs that never go away.

“But this Tax Day is different. Across our nation, thousands of Americans are participating in taxpayer tea parties today for one simple reason: overtaxed families and small businesses have had enough. They’ve had enough of Democrats forcing taxpayers to pick up the tab for more wasteful spending instead of working together to make the tough fiscal decisions Americans are forced to make each and every day. They’ve had enough of seeing their hard-earned tax dollars wasted on pork-barrel spending that won’t create jobs, rebuild their savings, or get our economy moving again. And they’ve had enough of Congress and the White House mortgaging our children and grandchildren’s future by saddling them with mountains of debt destined to bankrupt our country.

“House Republicans share the American people’s frustration and are proposing better solutions to reduce taxes and get Washington’s fiscal house back in order. We’ve proposed a plan to create twice the jobs as the Democrats’ ‘stimulus’ spending bill – 6.2 million total jobs – at half the cost. While Democrats just passed a budget that scrapped President Obama’s promise of a middle-class tax cut, we have offered a budget that curbs spending, creates jobs by cutting taxes, and controls the debt. And we’re crafting reforms to reduce energy costs and expand Americans’ access to affordable health care. It’s time for Washington Democrats to listen to the American people who have had enough and work with Republicans on common sense solutions to get our economy moving again – without raising taxes.”

Boehner: Economy Will Improve Because of American Ingenuity, Not the President’s Reckless Washington Spending

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) issued the following statement after President Obama’s speech on the economy at Georgetown University:

“Our economy will improve – but it will be because of the ingenuity and hard work of American workers and small businesses, not because of the Washington Democrats’ misguided policies that rely on recklessly spending taxpayer dollars. This is money we don’t have, yet the President’s trillion-dollar ‘stimulus’ was loaded with wasteful spending that has nothing to do with job creation, his $410 billion ‘omnibus’ spending bill was chock full of 9,000 unscrutinized earmarks, and his $3.5 trillion budget paves the way for a bigger and costlier federal government that will not create new jobs, help rebuild Americans’ savings, and get our economy moving again. Instead of embracing tough decisions, Democrats have avoided them in favor of saddling our children and grandchildren with mountains of debt that we know they cannot afford.

“During this time of economic crisis, we must do better. Republicans are offering better solutions to spur economic growth now and in the future, including our plan to create twice as many jobs – 6.2 million total – at half the cost of the President’s ‘stimulus’ spending plan. It’s time for Democrats to stop paying lip-service to working across party lines to tackle our economic challenges and actually start doing it. The hard-working American families and small businesses that will lead our economy back to prosperity deserve no less.”

Boehner Expresses Outrage at Obama Administration’s Handling of AIG Bonuses, Abuse of Taxpayer Funds

In a news conference yesterday morning, House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) made the following remarks regarding the White House’s claim two weeks ago that it was confident it knew how taxpayer dollars were spent by the insurance giant AIG:

“Two weeks ago, the President’s spokesman said that they were confident that they knew how every dime was being spent at AIG. Well clearly, they didn’t know what they were talking about. I think this is outrageous and I think the American people are rightly outraged that their tax money is going to pay bonuses to the very people that got this company in trouble.” (AUDIO)

NOTE: For months, House Republicans have been calling for more stringent accountability regarding the use of taxpayer dollars in financial bailouts. House GOP leaders wrote to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner last month, urging him to present an exit strategy to get the federal government back out of the private sector. The leaders sent a similar letter to former Treasury Secretary Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke late last year. The following exchange took place between White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and ABC News reporter Jake Tapper on March 2, 2009.

JAKE TAPPER: AIG, is the administration confident that it, that it knows what happened to the tens of billions of dollars previously given to AIG?

ROBERT GIBBS: Is it confident – I’m sorry?

TAPPER: That they know -- that you guys know what happened to the previous billions before you hand over this next $30 billion.

GIBBS: Yes -- yes, the -- I mean, I don’t think it's a -- well, obviously, you’ve got a huge insurance company that is losing money, not the least of which because of its sheer size and sheer size and decrease in the growth in our economy. It experiences a far bigger drop, largely because of its size. But, again, the steps that -- that Treasury and -- and others took were to ensure a larger systemic problem wasn’t one that we had to deal with here today in letting something just die.

TAPPER: But in terms of specifically the -- I guess it's like $150 billion before, you guys are confident...

GIBBS: Yes.

Rep. Boehner's Speech At CPAC