Congressman Boehner: American People Will Hold Democrats Accountable for Supporting Tax Hikes on Small Businesses

Jul 26, 2012

At his weekly press briefing today, Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) highlighted the stark contrast between Republicans taking action to stop the small business tax hike that threatens 700,000 jobs, and a campaigning President Obama who has been too busy to even meet with his own jobs council that opposes the tax hikes he is pushing. Congressman Boehner said Americans will hold Democrats accountable for tax hikes, and noted that only House Republicans have a plan to stop the tax hike and protect our national security from the threat of devastating defense cuts. Following is the text of Congressman Boehner’s remarks:

ON REPUBLICANS BEING THE ONLY ONES WHO HAVE OFFERED A PLAN TO STOP THE SMALL BUSINESS TAX HIKE & REPLACE DEFENSE CUTS:

“You know, by the end of next week, the House – and only the House – will have acted to address the tax hikes that threaten our economy, and the defense cuts that threaten our security. That’s because only Republicans have offered plans to address these threats.

“Yet it was the president who came up with the sequester because he didn’t want the debt limit to get in the way of his campaign. Now these arbitrary cuts are looming, and frankly he’s nowhere to be found on the issue.”

ON PRESIDENT OBAMA’S SMALL BUSINESS TAX HIKE THREATENING 700,000 AMERICAN JOBS:

“And it was the president’s proposed tax hike because he thinks if you run a small business, ‘you didn’t build’ it, the government did. And since he thinks the private sector and small businesses are ‘doing fine,’ he believes it won’t hurt to raise their taxes. Now the president’s off campaigning, trying to tell everyone who’ll listen that he didn’t really mean what he said – that he didn’t really mean ‘you didn’t build that.’

“Well Mr. President, I’ll tell you what, if you want to show that you stand with American small business owners, the best thing you can do is drop your plan to increase their taxes on January 1st. This small business tax hike that, according to…Ernst & Young, will destroy more than 700,000 jobs.”

ON REPUBLICANS VOTING TO STOP THE TAX HIKE & HELP PROTECT JOBS WHILE THE PRESIDENT WON’T EVEN MEET WITH HIS OWN JOBS COUNCIL:

“And next week, the House will vote to stop the small business tax hike. We’ll also vote to start pro-growth tax reform that will help employers keep jobs in America, and bring some jobs back to America that have gone overseas.

“Now lastly, we’ll give the Democrats an opportunity to vote for the president’s small business tax hike, and if they do, I think the American people will hold them accountable.

“In addition to stopping this tax hike, we should also come together to address the threat from these arbitrary defense cuts.

“And while we’re at it, we should get over to the president’s desk the more than 30 jobs bills that the House has passed in a bipartisan manner that sit in the United States Senate.

“Listen, the president may be checked out to the point that he hasn’t been able to meet with his Jobs Council, but the American people continue to ask the question: ‘where are the jobs?,’ and they expect us to work on this no matter where we are in the campaign or what time of the year it is. The House is going to continue to focus on the issue of most concern to the American people and that is the economy and jobs.”