John Boehner 8TH DISCTRICT OF OHIO

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Below are several excerpts from Congressman John Boehner’s interview today on NBC’s Meet the Press. Boehner discussed the importance of addressing Washington’s spending problem, replacing the president’s sequester with smarter cuts, fixing our tax code for all Americans to help our economy grow, and more:

Boehner: Leading the Fight to Address Washington’s Spending Problem:

“Listen, I'm here to lead the fight against out of control spending. And I'm going to lead that fight as Speaker of the House. … Every American, in these tough economic times, has to find a way to balance their budget. They've got to make choices. And they expect Washington to live within its means and to make choices as well. Now we know that we've got a structural deficit. The president has run up five trillion dollars worth of debt in the last five years. We have another one trillion dollar budget deficit this year. It's time for the president and Senate Democrats to get serious about the long-term spending problem that we have.”

Boehner: President Obama Demanded the Sequester, Senate Democrats Did Nothing to Replace It:

“Why haven't Senate Democrats passed the president's plan? The House has passed a plan twice, over the last ten months, to replace the sequester. Senate Democrats have done nothing. It's time for them to vote. It's time for us to get back to regular order here in Congress. … We have this sequester because the president demanded it and because Senate Democrats have refused to act.”

Boehner: Fairer, Simpler Tax Code Will Help Our Economy Grow:

“[T]he president got his tax hikes on January the first. If we're going to get rid of loopholes, let's lower rates and make the tax code fair for all Americans. … American family's wages aren't growing. They're being squeezed. And as a result, we've got to find a way through our tax code to promote more economic growth in our country. We can do this by closing loopholes, bringing the rates down for all Americans, making the tax code fairer. It will promote more economic growth.”

Boehner: House Will Vote On “Continuing Resolution,” Avoid Government Shutdown:

“The House next week will act to extend the continuing resolution through the end of the fiscal year, September 30th. The president this morning agreed that we should not have any talk of a government shutdown. So I'm hopeful that the House and Senate will be able to work through this.”

Boehner: President’s Senate Hasn’t Passed a Budget In Nearly Four Years:

“After we do our continuing resolution, we'll begin to work on our budget. The House has done a budget every year that I've been Speaker. The Senate hasn't done a budget for four years. They've committed to do a budget this year. And I hope that they do. And out of that discussion and out of that process, maybe we can find a way to deal with our long-term spending problem.”

Boehner: House to Continue Hearings on Violence, Mental Illness:

“We've already had a number of hearings in the House. We're going to continue to have hearings. But David, we need to look at more than just guns. We need to look at violence in our society. You know, we've got a violent society. And if you've looked at all these mass shootings, what you see is the people who perpetrated these crimes all had a history of mental illness. And so where's the nexus? And how do we ensure that we keep guns out of the hands of people who should not have them?”