Will Dem Leaders "BTU" Their Members on New Small Business Tax the Senate Plans to Ignore? | Republican Leader John Boehner

Will Dem Leaders "BTU" Their Members on New Small Business Tax the Senate Plans to Ignore? | Republican Leader John Boehner

Boehner: "It is Criminal Malpractice for Democrats to Push a Government Takeover of Health Care & a New Small Business Tax That Will Destroy More American Jobs"

Washington, Jul 14 - Many Democrats who walked the plank and voted for the Speaker’s unpopular national energy tax faced a blistering reaction back home, and the Senate looks unlikely to act on the legislation – meaning House Democrats got “BTU-ed” all over again. Will it happen again on health care too?

The Wall Street Journal reported that rank-and-file Democrats are concerned about another tough vote on a small business tax, and that House Democratic leaders relayed that concern to the White House at a meeting yesterday:

“In the [White House] meeting, House [Democratic] leaders voiced concerns that their members would take a politically risky vote for higher taxes only to see the Senate fail to act, according to people familiar with the meeting.”

Rank-and-file Democrats are right to be worried, since news reports find little enthusiasm for Speaker Pelosi’s national energy tax in the Senate, and Democratic Senators have also pointedly criticized their new small business tax as well. That didn’t stop House Democratic leaders. Today they made it official: they want to impose a massive new small business tax hike in the midst of a severe recession on American families and small business to finance their government takeover of health care. House Republican Leader John Boehner (D-OH), who has been asking the Democrats “Where are the jobs?” responded with a statement:

“During a deep economic recession, it is criminal malpractice for Democrats to push a government takeover of health care and a new small business tax that will destroy more American jobs. After the Democrats’ trillion-dollar ‘stimulus’ did not fulfill the Administration’s promises to create jobs immediately, a small business tax will make matters worse for middle-class Americans looking for real solutions to help put them back to work and give them better access to quality health care. Washington cannot afford to make the same mistake now that Democrats made earlier this year on the ‘stimulus.’”

Of note, President Obama released a statement in support of the House Democrats’ bill. What the President DOESN’T say in his statement, however, on the House Democrats health care bill speaks much more loudly than what he actually DOES say. Consider what he doesn’t mention, and it’s no wonder why:

1. Nothing on the job-killing small business tax to fund their government takeover of health care that the Senate refuses to take up.
2. Nothing about whether people will be able to keep their health plan, as the President has repeatedly claimed.
3. Nothing on the burdensome job-killing employer mandates.
4. Nothing on costly junk lawsuits that increase health care costs.
5. Nothing on the overall cost of the bill.

House Republicans have put forward a better plan to reduce health care costs, expand access, and increase the quality of care in a way Americans can afford – without a job-killing small business tax. The plan also will ensure that patients and doctors, not government bureaucrats, continue to make critical and personal medical decisions. More information on the plan is available HERE. With rank-and-file Democrats expressing opposition to small business taxes and mandates to finance this government takeover of health care, isn’t it time for Democratic leaders in Congress and the Administration to join Republicans at the table to craft a commonsense plan to give Americans better access to affordable health care?