To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (99013 ) 1/29/2011 12:38:14 PM From: Carolyn 3 Recommendations Respond to of 224737 I receive a weekly email from John Boehner. Here is this week's: A Look at Our Real “Sputnik Moment” (Our Shocking Debt), & More January 29, 2011| By Speaker Boehner Press Office It was a busy week in the Capitol as the new House majority kept its focus on cutting spending and removing barriers to job creation, the president delivered his State of the Union which was followed by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) GOP Address to the Nation, and Speaker Boehner teamed up with other lawmakers to save the landmark D.C. school choice program. Here’s a look: Speaker Boehner Calls America’s Shocking Debt Our Real “Sputnik Moment” • WATCH: Speaker Boehner told CNN’s Kathleen Parker that our real “Sputnik moment” is “the fact that we’re broke,” and reiterated that “cutting spending is the most important thing we can do to get the American people back to work.” • The House passed legislation (H. Res. 38) directing committees to cut non-security discretionary spending to pre-"stimulus," pre-bailout levels or lower – a key part of the Pledge to America. • The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report showing that the federal government is on pace to run a $1.5 trillion deficit this year – the third straight year of $1T+ deficits. • President Obama has asked Congress to raise the debt limit, but Speaker Boehner made it clear that the American people won’t accept it “unless it’s accompanied by major spending cuts and spending reforms.” Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan Delivers the Republican Address to the Nation • WATCH: Following the president’s State of the Union message, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) delivered the Republican Address to the Nation. Click here for a behind the scenes look as Chairman Ryan prepared to give the Address. • DID YOU KNOW: The practice of an address by the opposition party started in 1966 when Sen. Everett Dirksen (R-IL) and Rep. Gerald R. Ford (R-MI) responded to President Lyndon Johnson’s State of the Union? Click here to learn more. Weekly Spending Cut Saves Taxpayers Hundreds of Millions of Dollars • The new House majority voted to eliminate taxpayer funding for presidential campaigns and party conventions, a move that would save taxpayers $617 million. Small Businesses, Economists Say ObamaCare = Fewer Jobs, Higher Costs, & Losing Coverage You Like • In testimony to the House Ways & Means Committee, small business owner Joe Olivo said ObamaCare is “stifling one of the most important engines of job growth.” • Medicare Chief Actuary Richard Foster told the House Budget Committee that ObamaCare won’t lower costs and won’t allow Americans to keep coverage they like. Saving School Choice for Students and Parents in Washington • WATCH: Speaker Boehner teamed up with Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) to introduce bipartisan legislation to save the landmark D.C. school choice program for low-income students – a program that was abandoned by President Obama and Congressional Democrats. • Speaker Boehner also invited students, parents, and teachers involved in the school choice program to watch the State of the Union address as his guests in the House gallery. As always, we appreciate your interest in the new House majority and encourage you to stay connected with the Office of the Speaker on Facebook, Twitter, and on Speaker.gov. Have a great week! - Speaker Boehner’s Press Office ________________________________________ SPEAKER PRESS OFFICE REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH) H-232, THE CAPITOL (202) 225-0600 | SPEAKER.GOV