House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) pushed back against President Obama’s call for higher taxes — and greater leadership from Congress — at a Wednesday press conference. “The President’s remarks today ignore legislative and economic reality, and demonstrate remarkable irony,” Boehner said in a statement. “His administration has been burying our kids and grandkids in new debt and offered no plan to rein in spending. Republicans have been leading and offering solutions to put the brakes on this spending binge. The President has been AWOL from that debate.”
The speaker said Obama was “sorely mistaken” if he thought a deal to raise the debt ceiling that increases taxes would pass the House. “The votes simply aren’t there,” he said. “And they aren’t going to be there, because the American people know tax hikes destroy jobs.”
“The new majority in the House is going to stand with the American people,” Boehner added. “A debt limit increase can only pass the House if it includes spending cuts larger than the debt limit increase; includes reforms to hold down spending in the future; and is free from tax hikes. The longer the President denies these realities, the more difficult he makes this process.”