–House Speaker Pelosi Says Dems Passed Historic Reforms
–House Majority Leader Hoyer: Hill Will Extend Middle Class Tax Cuts
–House Minority Leader Boehner Pledges Broad Hill, Budget Reforms

By John Shaw

WASHINGTON (MNI) – With lawmakers on their way back home to
campaign for the Nov. 2 mid-term elections, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
and her leadership term exchanged jabs with House Minority Leader John
Boehner Thursday on the accomplishments of the past and the agenda for
the future.

In a briefing, Pelosi, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and other
Democrats said the current Congress has been a historic success, citing
passage of health care and financial regulatory reform bills.

Pelosi said House Republicans are focusing their current campaign
on process issues rather than offering a coherent policy agenda.

“They have no substantive issue to take to the American people,”
she said.

Hoyer said Republicans have spent the past two years trying to
“create gridlock and failure” in Washington.

Hoyer repeated that Congress will vote by the end of the year to
extend the middle class portion of the so-called Bush tax cuts. “We are
going to do that before the end of the year,” he said.

Boehner, speaking at the American Enterprise Institute, argued that
the House under Democratic leadership has become a chaotic institution
that has failed to accomplish the most basic requirements of governance:
passing a budget resolution and individual spending bills.

He said Congress’ “spending process has broken faith with the
American people.”

Boehner blasted Democrats for failing to extend the Bush-era tax
cuts that are set to expire at the end of the year.

“We could not get a simple up or down vote,” he said.

Boehner said the 111th Congress is not “so much concluding as
collapsing.”

The House Minority Leader, who is in line to become Speaker if
Republicans capture control of the House, said the GOP would open up the
House for more debate and votes on amendments.

He said that he would press for changing the spending process,
breaking up the 12 appropriations bills into smaller bills.

He said the GOP would push a ‘CutGo’ rule that would require any
new program be offset by a reduction or elimination of another program.

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

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