February 15, 2011 12:10 PM
ABC News’ John R. Parkinson reports:On the House floor this afternoon, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi seized on Speaker John Boehner’s “so be it” remarks in response to a question about potential job loss related to the Republicans’ plan to cut $100 billion from the continuing resolution.
Pelosi went after Boehner for the apparent gaffe and said that House Republicans “have not presented a responsible plan for addressing the deficit.”
“Just today, Speaker Boehner said that if jobs are lost as a result of Republican spending cuts, ‘So be it.’ So be it?” Pelosi, D-Calif., asked incredulously. “Democrats do not subscribe to Speaker Boehner’s verdict that if jobs are lost in this Continuing Resolution, ‘So be it.’ Maybe ‘So be it’ for him. But not ‘So be it’ for the people who are losing their jobs. Instead, we support President Obama’s budget to ‘out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world.’”
Earlier Tuesday, Boehner brushed aside a question about potential job losses resulting from the GOP’s $100 billion cuts, telling reporters that the expansion of the federal government over the past two years under Democratic rule has been an impetus for excessive federal spending and if some of those jobs are eliminated by the GOP’s cuts, then “so be it.”
“Over the last two years since President Obama has taken office, the federal government has added 200,000 new federal jobs and if some of those jobs are lost in this, so be it. We’re broke!” Boehner, R-Ohio, exclaimed. “It’s time for us to get serious about how we’re spending the nation’s money.”
Boehner then warned that by not acting to cut spending and reform entitlements, the country’s future is threatened.
“The biggest danger to our country is if we do not act,” Boehner said. “The status quo is shackling the future for our kids and grandkids – that’s why we have to act. And I believe that we can act in a responsible way to make sure that those entitlement programs that we have are sustainable for our parents and theirs and affordable for our kids and [our] grandkids.”
Pelosi said that the budget “should be a statement of our national values” and criticized Republicans for proposing cuts to programs like education, public safety and veterans’ benefits.
“Democrats and Republicans must work together to ensure our nation lives within its means. That’s for sure,” Pelosi said. “We must continue to aggressively attack waste, fraud, and abuse, and we will subject every taxpayer dollar we spend to the toughest scrutiny – ensuring the American people are getting their money’s worth.”
“Over the last two years since President Obama has taken office, the federal government has added 200,000 new federal jobs and if some of those jobs are lost in this, so be it. We’re broke!” Boehner, R-Ohio, exclaimed. “It’s time for us to get serious about how we’re spending the nation’s money.”
Boehner then warned that by not acting to cut spending and reform entitlements, the country’s future is threatened.
“The biggest danger to our country is if we do not act,” Boehner said. “The status quo is shackling the future for our kids and grandkids – that’s why we have to act. And I believe that we can act in a responsible way to make sure that those entitlement programs that we have are sustainable for our parents and theirs and affordable for our kids and [our] grandkids.”
Pelosi said that the budget “should be a statement of our national values” and criticized Republicans for proposing cuts to programs like education, public safety and veterans’ benefits.
“Democrats and Republicans must work together to ensure our nation lives within its means. That’s for sure,” Pelosi said. “We must continue to aggressively attack waste, fraud, and abuse, and we will subject every taxpayer dollar we spend to the toughest scrutiny – ensuring the American people are getting their money’s worth.”
Business as Usual
Democrats choose to ignore a real debate and jump on Boehner crack about the elimination of new government jobs.
Halperin's Take
Both sides engage in this kind of all-hands-on-deck exploitation of stray remarks by the opposition to try to win a wipe-out victory in one or more news cycles. From the DNC to liberal interest groups to Democratic members of Congress, the piling on Boehner is meant to drown out discussion of issues and define the budget fight on favorable terms. Again, Republicans pull this stunt too all the time. It is one of the Beltway's most unattractive sideshows, even when (especially when) it becomes the main event. Question: Will new White House spokesguy Jay Carney play this game?
Boehner: ‘So Be It’ If Federal Workers Are Laid Off
By Patrick O'Connor
House Speaker John Boehner expressed little sympathy Tuesday for federal workers who lose their jobs as the result of Republican budget cutting.
- House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
“In the last two years, under President Obama, the federal government has added 200,000 new federal jobs,” Mr. Boehner told reporters Tuesday morning during a press conference in the lobby of the Republican National Committee, according to various news outlets. “If some of those jobs are lost, so be it. We’re broke.”
Republicans in the House are considering legislation on the floor this week that seeks to slash $62 billion from the federal budget by the end of September. Those reductions – which face significant resistance in the Democratically controlled Senate – would result in drastic reductions at just about every federal agency.
Republicans campaigned on the promise to cut federal spending in the run-up to the 2010 election. That pledge, if enacted, will inevitably result in job losses at the federal and state level. But Mr. Boehner’s “so be it” line marks a coarse reversal from his more sympathetic “Where are the jobs?” mantra from the last election.
The associations that represent government workers are scrambling to minimize the pain as cost-cutting takes hold in Washington.
Joe Beaudoin, president of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, greeted the president’s budget on Monday with trepidation – and the president’s budget, which calls for a two-year pay freeze on federal workers, is downright rosy for government workers compared with the plan Republicans have proposed.
“America’s federal workforce understands the importance of fiscal responsibility – federal employees are already doing their part to reduce the deficit by undergoing a two-year pay freeze,” Mr. Beaudoin said Monday in response to Mr. Obama’s budget. “On behalf of the 4.6 million active and retired federal workers, we must make sure that federal employees who are doing their jobs for our country don’t get caught unfairly in the middle of these consequences.”
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