Politics

Boehner: Prolonged Health Bill Debate Hurts the Economy (Leaves Out GOP's Strategy to Stall it)

By Anne Landman

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) suggested on Fox News that the drawn-out process of passing health reform legislation is hurting the economy. Boehner told Fox News, ?It?s the policies that are coming out of this administration and liberals here in Congress that are holding back employers ... And until there?s some certainty out there in the marketplace ? I expect them to continue to sit on their hands.? Boehner left out information that Republicans have adopted a strategy to kill the bill by delaying it as much as possible. On December 1, 2009 Senator Judd Gregg (R-New Hampshire) sent a letter to all Republican senators listing procedural stall tactics, and on December 10, 2009, CBS News obtained a strategy memo issued by Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele that urged Republicans to do everything in their power to block the health care bill from advancing in the Senate: "I urge everyone to spend every bit of capital and energy you have to stop this health care reform," Steele wrote in the memo. "The Democrats have accused us of trying to delay, stall, slow down and stop this bill. They are right. We do want to delay, stall, slow down and ultimately stop them from experimenting on our nation's health care."

Full post as published by PR Watch on February 04, 2010 (boomark / email).