Boehner Wants Debt Limit Talks With Obama

Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, said Thursday that the White House should be prepared to negotiate with House Republicans on the debt limit – despite President Barack Obama’s insistence that he wants to extend it later this summer without strings attached.

“It’s easy to make a statement to that effect,” Boehner said of Obama at his Thursday morning news conference ,”but it’s just not reality.”

Of course, Boehner himself does not appear to have settled on exactly what he would be negotiating for, considering House GOP members emerged from Wednesday’s debt limit brainstorming session without a consensus on what to fight for.

Still, Boehner indicated that House Republicans would likely be seeking deeper spending cuts. “The fact is, that if the Treasury Department needs to pay the bills, the debt limit has to be dealt with, and should be dealt with in a responsible way,” he said. “[Obama] can’t continue to increase the debt limit without doing something about what’s driving the increase in the debt limit, and that is out of control spending.”

Boehner also took the opportunity to tout the House’s vote, set for later in the day, on a bill that would fully repeal Obamacare, the third of its kind since the GOP gained control of the chamber in 2011.

Standing beside the now-infamous, seven-foot “Red Tape Tower,” he gestured to the thousands of pages stacked on top of the other, tied with a red ribbon and balanced on a red hand-cart.

“These are the thousands and thousands of health care regulations,” Boehner explained. “And if we want jobs, we need to get rid of this, because this is getting in the way of employers hiring workers around the country.”

Boehner’s news conference also included mention of the two major scandals that have wreaked havoc on the Obama administration this week, namely revelations that the IRS inappropriately targeted conservative nonprofits seeking tax-exempt status and that the Justice Department seized records from Associated Press phone lines.

“Nothing dissolves the bonds between people and their government like the arrogance of power here in Washington,” Boehner said. “And that’s what the American people are seeing today from the Obama administration: remarkable arrogance.

“This house will stop at nothing to get to the American people the answers that they expect,” he continued. “But the best way to repair this damage is for the Obama administration to come forward with the truth — the whole truth — so that the American people will have all the facts.”

House GOP Still Struggling for Consensus on Debt Limit

They talked about balancing the budget in 10 years, repealing Obamacare, slashing spending and overhauling the tax code.

In other words, the House Republican meeting Wednesday afternoon to brainstorm a path forward for dealing with the debt limit basically consisted of “a laundry list of everything imaginable,” in the words of Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah.

That isn’t to say it was a surprise, or a disappointment. Leading up to the GOP leadership-convened conference, lawmakers said that they expected it to be a listening session rather than a strategy meeting on what demands they should bring to the negotiating table as a condition of raising the debt ceiling.

Policy Committee Chairman James Lankford, R-Okla., said Tuesday that he didn’t anticipate consensus around a single idea, but that perhaps “instead of 10 options, maybe we’ll come out with three or four.”

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Ryan Critical of Heritage Immigration Study

(Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

House Budget Chairman Paul D. Ryan was critical of The Heritage Foundation study predicting a heavy cost to the taxpayer if Congress approves an immigration overhaul that includes a path to citizenship.

In a statement provided to CQ Roll Call, the Wisconsin Republican had this to say about the Heritage report that the Senate bill’s “amnesty” component would cost taxpayers $6.3 trillion over several decades: “The Congressional Budget Office has found that fixing our broken immigration system could help our economy grow. A proper accounting of immigration reform should take into account these dynamic effects.”

Heritage defended its study during its unveiling Monday, saying its methodology adheres to that recommended by the National Academy of Sciences.

Cantor Sells Dems’ ‘Cave’ to Build Support for FAA Fix

Cantor is seeking to build support among Republicans for the FAA fix. Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer, right, announced on the House floor Friday that he opposes the bill. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Is House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., concerned that his conference might reject a bill that empowers the Federal Aviation Administration to work around the sequester and halt the air-traffic-controller furloughs that have been causing those annoying flight delays?

The Senate cleared similar legislation Thursday evening before leaving town for a weeklong recess and even included in the package language deeming any similar bill passed by the House as automatically approved by the Senate. Passing this legislation, sponsored by Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa, would appear to be a no-brainer for House Republicans, who have long argued that the sequester does not have to significantly affect critical government services if President Barack Obama applies the cuts smartly.

House Republicans have previously supported legislation that would grant Obama the power to do just that — a proposal that was rejected by both Senate Democrats and the administration until fear materialized of angry flight-delayed tarmac voters. So it was curious that Cantor, in a “Dear Colleague” letter to House Republicans announcing plans for a Friday floor vote on Latham’s FAA fix, urged support for the bill by citing CQ Roll Call reporter Steven T. Dennis’ tweet offering the following analysis:

Make no mistake, this FAA fix is a complete, utter cave by Senate Democrats and, if signed, by the White House.

— Steven Dennis (@StevenTDennis) April 26, 2013

Cantor in his letter adds that “this is a sentiment expressed in other press reports over the last 12 hours, including, Politico: ‘Democrats blink first on aviation‘ and Chicago Tribune: ‘White House Scrambles For Damage Control.’”

Read Cantor’s letter below: Full story

Tax Day Q&A With Peter Roskam

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

As the House chief deputy majority whip with a coveted slot on the Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Peter Roskam regularly finds himself at the nexus of the political and policy issues driving debate on Capitol Hill.

The Illinois Republican’s job is to help GOP leadership line up support for all manner of legislation — and count the votes. The GOP is enjoying its second largest House majority since World War II, but rarely has Roskam’s task been an easy one. The deputy whip’s role in helping Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp shepherd comprehensive tax reform is also loaded with political uncertainty and peril.

With Monday’s deadline for Americans to file their tax returns, Goppers sat down with Roskam, 51, to discuss the House Republicans’ effort to overhaul the tax code, why Democrats keep outflanking the GOP on the issue of taxes, and whether the White House should hold its breath waiting for the GOP to agree to another tax increase.

In part one of our Q&A, the fourth-term congressman, who represents the suburban Chicago 6th District, telegraphs how the House is likely to address gun control. Roskam opens up on what he thinks of the Senate, a characterization you don’t want to miss. Look for part two of our Q&A on Tuesday, when Roskam talks immigration, national politics and the challenge of whipping a sometimes fractious House Republican conference.

CQ Roll Call: Today is tax day. Do Americans pay too much of their income to the federal treasury every year?

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Boehner Violates Hastert Rule Again

The House approved a bill Tuesday without the support of a majority of the Republican Conference, about one month after Speaker John A. Boehner sought to assure his conference that he intended to observe the “Hastert rule.”

The bill, which expands the government’s ability to buy land to protect historical battlefields at a projected cost of $50 million, passed under suspension of the rules, 283-122, with 101 Republicans supporting the bill and 122 voting against it. The Hastert rule, named for former Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., calls for GOP leadership to only allow bills to pass that have secured “a majority of the majority” of the House Republican conference.

Dan Holler, a spokesman for Heritage Action for America, which issued a “key vote” against the bill, said, “Americans of all political stripes agree something has to change, and that Republicans can lead that change if they are willing to reject status quo in Washington. Violating the Hastert Rule to pass $46 million in battlefield pork won’t get the job done, though,” he said. “Last night’s vote was a missed opportunity.”

Although the top members of House GOP leadership voted for the bill, including Budget Chairman Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, several of the lower tier members of leadership, including Oregon Rep. Greg Walden, the National Republican Congressional Committee chairman, and Oklahoma Rep. James Lankford, the Policy Committee chairman, voted “no.”

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The New GOP: Kids Before Conventions

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s latest effort at a new-look Republican Party will come in the form of a bill that would fund pediatric research in an unconventional way, the Virginian’s office announced Tuesday.

The Kids First Research Act would repurpose federal money used to finance the Democratic and Republican political conventions and publicly finance presidential campaigns and would instead use the resources to fund research into autism and other childhood diseases.

“Instead of spending millions of taxpayer dollars for presidential campaigns, these funds will be better spent helping find cures and treatments for pediatric diseases and disorders like autism,” Cantor said in a statement.

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Fix The Debt Packs Its Bags

Fix The Debt, the nonpartisan organization dedicated to addressing the country’s massive $16 trillion debt, has shifted its focus from Washington, D.C., to the states in an effort to gain traction for agenda.

Rather than spend all of its time attempting to influence lawmakers Inside the Beltway, the group has launched a new campaign aimed at building support for its campaign to push Congress to tame the federal debt by attempting to sway voters where members serve.

The effort began last week with a Nashville, Tenn., event headlined by Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn. On Wednesday, Fix The Debt hosted an Indianapolis event that was joined by Rep. Susan W. Brooks, R-Ind. Rather than targeting members, Fix The Debt plans to host events in conjunction with them as it seeks to assemble grass-roots support for a bipartisan approach to debt reduction and structural changes to budgeting that would prevent future flareups.

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Boehner Memo: ‘We Forged a New Tactical Plan’

Spring has arrived in Washington, D.C., even though the weather might not yet reflect the season, and that means it’s time for spring messaging from Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio.

In a memorandum sent to House Republicans on Thursday morning and just now revealed to reporters — even though it was probably intended more for the press than for his members — Boehner pats his majority conference for their work during the first three months of the 113th Congress while offering messaging guidance for time they’re spending at home this week and next meeting with constituents.

The memo follows after the jump.

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The GOP’s Obsolete Talking Point

Lummis recently used a common GOP talking point on federal government borrowing that is actually outdated. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

In a column this week, Rep. Cynthia M. Lummis begins with a variation of a favorite GOP talking point.

“America’s Budget Made Simpler — The federal government now borrows $4.8 billion a day, every single day, to support its spending habit,” the Wyoming Republican wrote and tweeted.

The only problem is, that particular fact is no longer true.

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Breaking Down the 10 GOP ‘No’ Votes on the Ryan Budget

Forbes was one of 10 Republicans who voted against the Ryan budget on Thursday. He said it didn’t do enough to undo the sequester cuts that are hitting his military-rich district. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

We explained earlier this week why most conservatives would vote for the Ryan budget despite their complaints that it largely obtained balance in a relatively brief 10 years by including past tax increases.

That proved true Thursday, when only 10 Republicans voted “no” on the plan and decided against joining their party on one of its most unified votes. Here’s why they voted against House Budget Chairman Paul D. Ryan’s blueprint.

Six of the 10 said the Wisconsin Republican’s budget didn’t cut spending fast enough, while four said it cut spending too steeply or in the wrong areas.

Reps. Justin Amash of Michigan, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Walter B. Jones of North Carolina — all “no” votes — are in the same ideological camp of libertarian-leaning Republicans urging far bolder spending cuts. Amash and Jones, who were thrown off their plum committee assignments in December, have become almost automatic “no” votes on spending bills that come out of the House. Massie has quickly joined their ranks.

Rep. Rick Crawford of Arkansas said in a statement that he voted against the budget because he wants “permanent spending controls,” not a “non-binding resolution” that can be “changed with each new Congress.” Full story

Boehner Downplays Debt Ceiling Fight as Leverage

Boehner said the GOP may use the debt ceiling increase to push for long-term entitlement changes. (Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Speaker John A. Boehner downplayed the importance of the debt ceiling increase in remarks to reporters Thursday, saying it might provide “some” leverage to Republicans to force spending cuts, “but I’m not going to risk the full faith and credit of the federal government.”

Rather than isolating the debt ceiling as an individual point of leverage, Republicans are hinting they’ll use it alongside the sequester cuts and the budget fight to push for long-term entitlement changes.

“We’ve made clear that to get rid of the sequester, we need cuts and reforms that will put us on a path to balance the budget over 10 years. The president is clear that he’s not going to address our entitlement crisis unless we’re willing to raise taxes. I think the tax issue’s been resolved. So at this point in time, I don’t know how we go forward,” the Ohio Republican said.

Republicans are planning an extended closed-door meeting to hammer out their strategy on the debt ceiling and other issues when they return from Easter recess. Boehner and other members of House leadership met on March 14 with a working group of influential conservatives on the issue.

Conservatives in the group are coalescing around demanding changes to entitlements for the debt ceiling increase and said the extended conference session will allow the GOP to “hash out” which reforms they will support.

Why Most Conservatives Will Vote for the Ryan Budget, Despite Complaints

Salmon plans to vote for the Ryan budget plan. (Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call)

The budget blueprint offered by House Republicans last year would have balanced the budget in what seemed like a million years (actually, it was 27). This year’s plan offered by Budget Chairman Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., balances in only 10. It also repeals Obamacare and institutes Medicare changes sought by Republican deficit hawks.

And yet, there is angst on the right about this budget.

“This year’s budget actually spends more money” than last year’s budget, wrote Daniel Horowitz at RedState.com, “while all of the balance is achieved through $3.233 trillion in new revenues.”

Those new revenues include tax increases agreed to as part of the fiscal cliff negotiations as well as tax increases that were part of Obamacare. That has led to some anger on the right, including from ForAmerica Chairman Brent Bozell, who said, “The only thing the Ryan budget makes clear is that Paul Ryan spent too much time campaigning with Mitt Romney.”

Among House conservatives, however, the complaints have been muted. Lawmakers who are concerned about the tax increases in the budget are planning on voting for it anyway. Full story

Republicans Remain Skeptical of Obama’s Charm Offensive

Latham said he hopes Obama’s recent outreach to congressional Republicans is “genuine.” (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Congressional Republicans remain skeptical of President Barack Obama’s charm offensive — very, very, very skeptical.

In conversations with House and Senate Republicans late Tuesday, a deep suspicion of his motives for reaching out and his commitment to working with them on fiscal and other issues hung like a dark cloud over their otherwise predictable comments expressing cautious optimism that Washington could be on the cusp of a new era of bipartisanship.

“There’s some concern as to whether it will be more than political window dressing,” Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., said during a brief interview. “I think members are happy that it’s happening. They’re not yet convinced that it’s going to be consistent and long-lasting.”

“I hope it’s genuine,” Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa, added. “Who knows?”

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Ryan Budget: The Official Talking Points

House Republicans are only now beginning to take a deeper look at Budget Chairman Paul D. Ryan’s fiscal 2014 budget plan. A committee markup to fill in the details is scheduled to begin Wednesday.

In the interim, here are the “talking points” House Budget Committee Republicans have armed their GOP colleagues with:

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