–House Speaker Boehner: ‘Hopeful’ of Payroll Tax Cut Deal
–Rep. Boehner: Has ‘Concerns’ Sequestration Will ‘Hollow’ Military
–Rep. Boehner: Downplays Big Rift With House Majority Leader Cantor

By John Shaw

WASHINGTON (MNI) – House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday that
tax reform efforts should “deal with the entire tax code,” adding that
any package must overhaul both the corporate and individual sections of
the tax code.

In comments at a briefing, Boehner’s remarks appeared to signal
that he would not support any efforts to move corporate tax reform on a
separate and presumably a speedier path than overall tax reform.

Boehner said he is “hopeful” that a House-Senate conference
committee will craft a compromise payroll tax cut extension plan in the
coming weeks, but offered no details on what kind of compromise might
be reached.

A two-month payroll tax cut extension expires at the end of
February.

The Speaker said he has “concerns” that the across-the-board
spending cuts that are set to be triggered next January will “hollow the
military.”

But he did not endorse legislation that is trying to delay the
first year of the across-the board spending cuts required by the failure
of the Super Committee by cutting federal employment and extending a pay
freeze for federal government employees.

Boehner acknowledged that it will be challenging to pass the House
GOP’s five-year $260 billion highway bill because the package contains
no earmarks and has “real reforms” to transportation programs.

“It’s going to be hard,” Boehner said.

Boehner took repeated swipes at the Democratic controlled Senate,
saying that more than 25 bills to boost jobs and economic growth have
been approved by the House and are languishing in the Senate.

“We need to have a willing partner,” Boehner said.

Finally, Boehner downplayed, but did not dispute, a prominent
article in the Politico newspaper that said he and House Majority Leader
Eric Cantor have been battling for more than a year and now have
declared a “truce” as the GOP prepares for the November elections.

** Market News International Washington Bureau: (202) 371-2121 **

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