Statement of former US Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-OH), President of the Main Street Partnership

(Washington, DC) – Today, Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI) – Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee – announced a series of hearings on entitlement reform proposals. In response, former U.S. Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-OH), President of the Main Street Partnership, issued the following statement:

“This announcement is an important development in the effort to find a bipartisan solution to the debt crisis facing our nation. Chairman Camp has made it clear that these hearings will focus on entitlement reforms that have been offered by President Obama along with entitlement reform proposals recommended by the bipartisan Bowles-Simpson Commission and the bipartisan Rivlin-Domenici Task Force.

“We are on the precipice of an unprecedented fiscal crisis as we approach $16.5 trillion in debt. If we are going to find a solution to this serious challenge we need to build a bipartisan coalition that is willing to make compromises to get a deal done – there can be no sacred cows.

“The problem is an immense one and there are no quick fixes or easy solutions – and no one party can do this alone. By focusing these hearings on the entitlement reform proposals that have been put forth by the President and by respected bipartisan efforts, Chairman Camp is sending a clear signal that he is committed to a bipartisan approach.

“Main Street recently released a white paper (which can be found here) that lays out many of the bipartisan proposals that will be the subject of these hearings. We said in that white paper that the time to act is now, we praise Chairman Camp for these hearings and hope that it encourages other leaders in the House, Senate and in the White House to also act.”

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The Main Street Partnership is dedicated to promoting and building a pragmatic, thoughtful, fiscally conservative, and inclusive “Governing Majority,” where political debate is encouraged to promote solutions to improve the lives of all Americans. Embracing the full spectrum of center-right ideologies and values in order to build coalitions, the Main Street Partnership is the largest organization of elected leaders who are in the mold of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan. For more information on the Main Street Partnership, visit our website at www.republicanmainstreet.org.

Statement of former US Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-OH), President of the Republican Main Street Partnership

(Washington, DC) – Today, a bipartisan amendment will be offered in the U.S. House of Representatives that will urge President Obama to offer a budget that balances in 10 years and is based on the recommendations of the Simpson-Bowles commission. In response, former U.S. Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-OH), President of the Republican Main Street Partnership, issued the following statement:

“The bipartisan amendment being offered by Reps. Wolf (R-VA), Schrader (D-OR), Gibson (R-NY) and Cooper (D-TN) is a common-sense approach to an issue we can no longer afford to ignore.

“We are on the precipice of an unprecedented fiscal crisis. We are approaching $16.5 trillion in debt. We cannot continue to operate on the basis of short-term ‘fixes’ that simply delay the next ‘crisis’ we face for a few weeks or few months. No successful businessperson would ever consider operating their business like this, no family would ever consider planning their personal finances in this manner, it is absolutely governmental malpractice to run our nation in this manner.

“It is time to bridge the partisan divide, it is time to take a break from the endless campaign cycle, and it is time to find real solutions to the serious challenges we face as a country.

“The Republican Main Street Partnership praises this bipartisan effort and urges members of both parties to vote for this important amendment.”

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The Main Street Partnership is dedicated to promoting and building a pragmatic, thoughtful, fiscally conservative, and inclusive “Governing Majority,” where political debate is encouraged to promote solutions to improve the lives of all Americans. Embracing the full spectrum of center-right ideologies and values in order to build coalitions, the Main Street Partnership is the largest organization of elected leaders who are in the mold of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan. For more information on the Main Street Partnership, visit our website at www.republicanmainstreet.org.

Joint Statement of former U.S. Rep. Amory F. Houghton (R-NY), former U.S. Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-OH), and former U.S. Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA)

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) was once again elected Speaker of the House of Representatives.  In response, former U.S. Rep. Amory F. Houghton (R-NY), former U.S. Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-OH), and former U.S. Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA) issued the following joint statement:

“John Boehner’s election as Speaker of the House is good for our party and good for our country.  Speaker Boehner has ably led a diverse Republican caucus and has worked tirelessly to find common ground with the Senate and the White House in order to craft pragmatic solutions to the complex challenges we face as a country.

“Speaker Boehner has shown courageous leadership in difficult times and a willingness to work with Republicans and Democrats of all ideological stripes.  The Republican Main Street Partnership congratulates Speaker Boehner on his election today and we look forward to working with him in the weeks and months ahead.”

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The Republican Main Street Partnership (RMSP) is dedicated to promoting and building a pragmatic, thoughtful, fiscally conservative, and inclusive “Governing Majority,” where political debate is encouraged to promote solutions to improve the lives of all Americans. Embracing the full spectrum of center-right ideologies and values in order to build coalitions, RMSP is the largest organization of elected leaders who are in the mold of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan. For more information on RMSP, visit our website at www.republicanmainstreet.org.

 

 

Statement of Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-OH)

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Main Street member U.S. Senator Mark Kirk returned to Washington, D.C. nearly a year after suffering a serious stroke.  In response, Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-OH) issued the following statement on behalf of the Republican Main Street Partnership:

“All of DC, regardless of political party, is thrilled to see Mark Kirk return to the Senate.  Mark Kirk has been one of the smartest and hardest working members in either chamber.  His presence has been missed.

“Mark has never shied away from a challenge, which is why no one is surprised that he has made such an amazing recovery.  Welcome back Senator!”

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The Republican Main Street Partnership (RMSP) is dedicated to promoting and building a pragmatic, thoughtful, fiscally conservative, and inclusive “Governing Majority,” where political debate is encouraged to promote solutions to improve the lives of all Americans. Embracing the full spectrum of center-right ideologies and values in order to build coalitions, RMSP is the largest organization of elected leaders who are in the mold of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan. For more information on RMSP, visit our website at www.republicanmainstreet.org.

 

 

(Washington, D.C.) – Last night, the U.S. House of Representatives followed the Senate and passed a short-term deal to avoid the fiscal cliff.  In response, Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-OH) issued the following statement on behalf of the Republican Main Street Partnership:

“The consequences of going over the fiscal cliff would have been disastrous.  Virtually all Americans, not just upper income taxpayers, would face an abrupt tax increase averaging more than $3,400 per household.  Failure to reach a deal would have done real damage to our economy and resulted in unnecessary job losses.

“Avoiding these dire consequences is obviously a good thing, which is why so many of my colleagues in the House and Senate joined me in voting for this deal.  The work, however, is not done.

“I am deeply disappointed that the opportunity was missed to do what must really be done – craft a comprehensive bipartisan deal to address our looming debt crisis.  This short-term deal was a necessary one, but it has simply kicked the can down the road when it comes to dealing with the national debt.

“No one in Washington should take a victory lap, instead we need our leaders to recommit themselves to doing the hard work that will be required to find a solution to the debt crisis we are facing.”

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The Republican Main Street Partnership (RMSP) is dedicated to promoting and building a pragmatic, thoughtful, fiscally conservative, and inclusive “Governing Majority,” where political debate is encouraged to promote solutions to improve the lives of all Americans. Embracing the full spectrum of center-right ideologies and values in order to build coalitions, RMSP is the largest organization of elected leaders who are in the mold of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan. For more information on RMSP, visit our website at www.republicanmainstreet.org.

 

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives will consider two bills that – if they become law – would prevent us from going over the fiscal cliff.  “Compromise, by its very nature, dictates that neither side will get 100% of what they want,” said Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-OH).  “While I would prefer that taxes not go up on any American, the fact is that we have a Democratic controlled Senate and a Democrat in the White House.  The compromise bills that the House will be voting on today protect as many Americans as possible from tax increases, while at the same time ensuring we avoid the looming fiscal cliff.”

“The consequences of going over the fiscal cliff would be disastrous,” continued LaTourette. “Virtually all Americans, not just upper income taxpayers, would face an abrupt tax increase averaging more than $3,400 per household.”

If a compromise were not agreed to, the fiscal cliff would include abrupt tax increases on lower-income earners from a smaller earned income tax credit, child tax credit, and the elimination of the 10% tax bracket. The Alternative Minimum Tax would hit millions of middle class taxpayers for tax year 2012, just as higher earners face higher tax rates on income and capital gains and dividends. Meanwhile, the tax rate on investment income is scheduled to nearly triple.  Ultimately, raising such rates on capital gains and dividends would negatively impact seniors, retirees and small businesses.  On the spending side, many federal programs ranging from education to transportation to defense would be cut across-the-board. Payments to physicians serving Medicare patients would be cut by over 27%, and approximately two million unemployed workers will lose unemployment benefits.

“Going over the fiscal cliff would also damage our economy and increase unemployment,” said LaTourette.  Indeed, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that going over the fiscal cliff would shrink the size of the economy by nearly 3% in the first half of 2013, putting our economy back into a recession and pushing unemployment back above 9%.

“Those who oppose this compromise are putting American taxpayers, small businesses and seniors at risk – all in the name of ideological purity.  The stakes are simply too high for our elected officials in Washington to play politics with the lives of so many,” concluded LaTourette.

Details on the Plan B bills:

The Spending Reduction Act of 2012 (H.R. 6684) replaces the president’s defense ‘sequester’ with common-sense spending cuts and reforms, and reduces the deficit by an additional $242 billion over the original sequester. The bill focuses on stopping waste, fraud, and abuse in federal programs, eliminating government slush funds (including an ObamaCare slush fund), and reducing waste and duplication in government bureaucracies.

The Permanent Tax Relief for Families and Small Businesses Act of 2012 (H.J. Res. 66) permanently protects millions of taxpayers from President Obama’s tax rate hikes. The bill permanently extends current tax rates for everyone making less than $1 million, the $1,000 child tax credit, expensing relief for small businesses, and much more. Analysis by the nonpartisan JCT found it is a $3.9 trillion tax cut.

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The Republican Main Street Partnership (RMSP) is dedicated to promoting and building a pragmatic, thoughtful, fiscally conservative, and inclusive “Governing Majority,” where political debate is encouraged to promote solutions to improve the lives of all Americans. Embracing the full spectrum of center-right ideologies and values in order to build coalitions, RMSP is the largest organization of elected leaders who are in the mold of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan. For more information on RMSP, visit our website at www.republicanmainstreet.org.

 

 

Statement of former U.S. Rep. Amory F. Houghton (R-NY) and former U.S. Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA)

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, the Republican caucus in both chambers held leadership elections.  In response, former U.S. Rep. Amory F. Houghton (R-NY) and former U.S. Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), issued the following statement:

“We congratulate the Republican leadership team in both the House and the Senate.  Leader McConnell and Speaker Boehner enjoy the trust and support of their caucus as well as our organization.  We think both men – and their full leadership teams – will successfully lead the Republican Party in the next Congress.

“We would like to especially congratulate Main Street member Greg Walden (R-OR) on his election as Chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee.  Greg understands what it takes for Republicans to win in every corner of this country and we look forward to his leadership in growing the Republican Party and expanding our House majority.

“We would also like to congratulate Main Street member Lynn Jenkins (R-KS) on her election as Conference Vice Chair.  Lynn is a rising star in the Republican Party and someone who will bring a important perspective to the House leadership team.”

Leadership in the US House:

Speaker:  Boehner (OH)

Leader:  Cantor (VA)

Whip:  McCarthy (CA)

Conference Chair:  McMorris-Rodgers (WA)

Conference Vice Chair:  Jenkins (KS)

Policy Chair:  Lankford (OK)

NRCC Chair:  Walden (OR)

 

Leadership in the US Senate:

Leader: McConnell (KY)

Whip: Cornyn (TX)

Conference Chair: Thune (SD)

Policy Chair: Barrasso (WY)

Conference Vice Chair: Blunt (MO)

NRSC Chair: Moran (KS)

NRSC Vice Chair (Finance): Portman (OH)

NRSC Vice Chair (Grassroots): Cruz (TX)

 

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The Republican Main Street Partnership (RMSP) is dedicated to promoting and building a pragmatic, thoughtful, fiscally conservative, and inclusive “Governing Majority,” where political debate is encouraged to promote solutions to improve the lives of all Americans. Embracing the full spectrum of center-right ideologies and values in order to build coalitions, RMSP is the largest organization of elected leaders who are in the mold of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan. For more information on RMSP, visit our website at www.republicanmainstreet.org.