Speaker Boehner Sets The Record Straight On Obama’s Sequester

February 20, 2013

In this morning’s Wall Street Journal, Speaker John Boehner sets the record straight on just why the country is on the path to Obama’s sequester.

 

“Most Americans are just hearing about this Washington creation for the first time: the sequester. What they might not realize from Mr. Obama’s statements is that it is a product of the president’s own failed leadership.”

 

In his op-ed, he also lays out firsthand how President Obama proposed the sequester and then insisted it be included on any final debt ceiling deal.

 

“I immediately got together with Senate leaders Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell to forge a bipartisan congressional plan. It would be called the Budget Control Act.”

“But President Obama was determined not to face another debt-limit increase before his re-election campaign. Having just blown up one deal, the president scuttled this bipartisan, bicameral agreement. His solution? A sequester.”

It’s unbelievable that President Obama still rails against the sequester after not only did he propose it, but he has also failed to put forth any solutions. House Republicans have passed two sequester replacements that were promptly ignored by President Obama and Senate Democrats.

 

“The president’s sequester is the wrong way to reduce the deficit, but it is here to stay until Washington Democrats get serious about cutting spending. The government simply cannot keep delaying the inevitable and spending money it doesn’t have.”

“So, as the president’s outrage about the sequester grows in coming days, Republicans have a simple response: Mr. President, we agree that your sequester is bad policy. What spending are you willing to cut to replace it?”