Posted on 10/01/2010 1:13:34 PM PDT by jazusamo
Complete title: Boehner: The U.S. House is in a 'State of Emergency' and is No Longer Able to Act on Will of the People
Washington (CNSNews.com) – House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Thursday that the House of Representatives is in “a state of emergency” due to rules that discourage debate and foster corruption.
In a policy speech at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., Boehner observed that the House is no longer able to follow the will of the American people.
“The House finds itself in a state of emergency,” Boehner said. “The institution does not function, does not deliberate, and seems incapable of acting on the will of the American people.”
The ten-term Ohio congressman, whom poll-watchers say could be poised to take over as Speaker of the House next session, laid out an agenda for reforming the House after what he called the “collapse” of the institution in the past weeks and months.
“Just look at how the 111th Congress is not so much concluding as much as it has collapsed,” he said. “Instead of tallying up a final flurry of legislative output, observers and constituents are asking, ‘What went wrong?’”
Boehner said a chief failing of this Congress, which narrowly voted to adjourn on Wednesday, was the fact that congressmen were heading home to campaign without providing any certainty about the Bush tax cuts, which are set to expire at the end of the year.
“This week we had, in my view, an obligation to bring both parties together and stop massive tax increases scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1 -- increases that we’ve seen coming now for two year,” Boehner told reporters. “Even with the existence of a clear, bipartisan majority and the support of the American people, we could not get a single up-or-down vote. It’s a sad but not altogether surprising finale to this Congress, and the latest in a long string of congressional sessions that have frayed the fragile bonds of trust between the American people and their elected representatives.
Voters should be upset with the current Congress, Boehner added.
“Americans have every right to be fed up, and trust me, they are,” he said. “But what I won’t accept and what I refuse to accept is that we can simply walk away and let our government continue to drift.”
The top House Republican listed a number of proposals that he said would help the body produce better legislation under a more transparent process, lamenting that under the current Nancy Pelosi-led Congress, only a few people had a hand in crafting bills and the other 400 members “sat on the sidelines.”
“From the floor of the House to the committee level, the integrity of the House has been compromised. The battle of ideas, the very lifeblood of the House, is virtually nonexistent.”
Boehner proposed a “Cut As You Go” -- or CUTGO – rule, which would require members to cut or shrink a government program in the same bill that they propose any new benefit or program. He also porposed re-focusing committees back onto their constitutional role overseeing the Executive Branch and again allowing bills to be debated under the “open rule” system -- meaning that any member is allowed to submit germane amendments for consideration.
Boehner said the current House, led by Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), has not allowed any bills under this process.
“This is the first Congress in our history that has not allowed one bill to come to the floor under an open rule. The current freshman class has served almost their entire term without ever having the chance to debate a bill under an open process in the House,” Boehner said.
For example, the health-care reform bill was largely crafted by House leadership and then sent to the Rules Committee, which set strict limitations on the length and breadth of debate -- a process Boehner called “ugly.”
“I’ve been here nearly 20 years,” Boehner said of his time in Congress. “I’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly; and lately, there’s been a lot of ugly.”
The House on Wednesday narrowly voted (210-209) to adjourn until after the election, after considering dozens of bills under its “suspension” calendar – meaning that the normal rules of the House were suspended, debate was limited to 40 minutes, no amendments were allowed and a two-thirds majority was required to pass a bill.
Congress will not reconvene until after the midterm elections on Nov. 2, when every member of the House is up for reelection.
Oh wait, nevermind.
But she’s the first woman Speaker of the House. She’s HISTORIC! /s
Bravo for him to speak out like this. The pressure on and exposure of the progressives needs to be kept on- the spotlights need to be shined on the culprits so they can be flushed out!
Congress in an obsolete relic from the days when those religious nuts ran the place... abolish it and just let King B. Hussein Obama and his designates run the country by decree.
She’s not only HISTORIC, with all that plastic surgery, she’s hermetically sealed!
Shameful.
Wow. Pretty strong words from Boehner. The reaction should be interesting.
Paul Ryan or Michelle Bachmann for next house speaker...
“The House finds itself in a state of emergency,” Boehner said. “The institution does not function, does not deliberate, and seems incapable of acting on the will of the American people.”
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All under good Marxist criminal leadership. How many laws have they broken today?
First woman speaker.... first black president.... They have both set us back to the 1960s.
Well said! Ignoring the laws, rules and will of the people is the methods of tyrants.
If y’all think that was bad, just wait until after the election.
“...That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
jazz, if this election does not result in the biggest voter turnout in the history of the midterms, and if it doesn’t throw the majority of the Dhimmies out the door, then we might as well start whistling up the Local Irregulars right now, start loading up for bear and battening down the hatches. People, if you haven’t spent the last two years doing something about taking care of you and yours in an emergency, it’s almost too late.
If Boehner is right, then the voters had better correct things in one big hurry. We should not be seeing any recounts and there ought not be too many races where incumbent Dhimmies hold on for weeks getting recounts.
I can’t imagine this level of Congressional and Federal disaster to continue for much longer, one way or another. It’s either going to collapse into anarchy of it’s own weight, or the States need to get their collective shit in one sock, dissolve the existing Federal Government and start over again.
Sound too extreme for you?? We’re almost there right now Boys and Girls.
Think about how many Nations around the World are looking at this egomaniacal child in the White House that is being enabled by this Congress, and are salivating at the chance of taking their next shot at us. There is no adult in control right now and that is beyond merely dangerous.
Congress will not reconvene until after the midterm elections on Nov. 2, when every member of the House is up for reelection.
GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY!!! IF ONLY THIS WERE TRUE!!!
BUMP!
Tell us why it isn’t true.
It’s not my intent to rain on our parade, but Boehner’s treating his seat like a sinecure. Twenty years is a very long time. Moreover, I’m not sure I trust the coefficient of elasticity of his spine. Just sayin’. sd
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