Boehner, J REP
Boehner, J REP
pretty much 180 // McCain?
NO MERRI
SEE AILES, BENGHAZI BS
cap
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OMG SEE FIASCO BENGHAZI MIKE SCHMIDT HAD HILLARY EMAIL HRD22 ? BUT ASSUMED SHE ALSO USES AN OFFICIAL ACCT? INVESTIGATTOR MIL INTEL ON 2ND TREY GOWDY SPECIAL COMM DID NOT SEE PROBLEM
THINKING MAN’S TP? BOEHNER LONGTOME PAL OF AILES; APPROVED OF 2ND BS COMM IF HE WD GET THE “CRAZIES” TO BACK OFF?!
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Count former House SpeakerJohn Boehner as the latest not-quite-a-lobbyist.
For nearly a decade, the number of registered lobbyists has slipped each year. This summer, the figure finally dipped below 10,000 — the lowest it’s been since the Center for Responsive Politics began keeping track in 1998. And that drop in lobbyists has been accompanied by a dropoff in revenue, painting a numerical picture of an industry seemingly in pronounced decline.
But the numbers ignore the hearty portion of Washington’s influence industry engaged in what’s sometimes referred to as “shadow lobbying,” unreported to the agencies that gather quarterly filings from those trying to bend federal policy in their clients’ favor.
That’s where, from all appearances, Boehner — who’s barred from having lobbying contacts with his former colleagues until he’s been out of office a year — could be a great fit.
Lobbying giant Squire Patton Boggs, currently the sixth highest-earning lobbying firmin the nation with over $9 million in billings in the first half of this year, announced this week that Boehner will be joining the firm as a strategic adviser on global business development in the public sector. After representing Ohio for almost a quarter century, the last four of those as speaker, Boehner resigned from the House last October after struggling to resolve conflicts between conservative and centrist elements of his Republican party.
From riches to…less obvious riches
Lobbying was very much a growth industry in the early years of the millennium — revenue doubled from 1998 to 2007, and the number of registered lobbyists grew more than 40 percent. But 2008 brought a reversal that has only continued: The most recent count puts the number at just over 9,700, compared to the 2007 peak of more than 14,800. Revenue topped out at $3.5 billion in 2010, while the 2015 figure was $3.2 million. The trend line for 2016 points to another modest decrease by year’s end.
What happened?
The recession and its aftermath are typically blamed, bringing tighter wallets all around. Another factor often mentioned is worsened congressional gridlock — if bills are less likely to be passed, organizations may not invest in trying to make that happen.
But many experts insist there’s not less lobbying going on. It’s just that much of it is unreported.
Increased regulation is one reason. In 2007 — the year the number of registered lobbyists peaked — Congress passed the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, which required lobbyists to disclose far more information about their work and included measures to slow the “revolving door” between government and the influence industry.
The legal definition of “lobbyist” remained the same: An individual must register if more than 20 percent of his/her working time is spent advocating to government officials; other guidelines exist around income and contacts with executive and legislative branch personnel. But with a new disclosure regime, and new sanctions for violators, some lobbyists began claiming their work did not meet the threshhold and unregistered.
Until HLOGA passed, “there was no downside to being a registered lobbyist — the best practice was to err on the side of over-registration,” said Caleb Burns, a partner specializing in lobbying law at the Washington law firm Wiley Rein. “Being a lobbyist now has serious potential legal consequences.”
President Barack Obama clamped down further. In his first full day in office, Obama signed two executive orders and three presidential directives curbing the work that former lobbyists could do in his administration — including on federal advisory boards and commissions, areas previously open to those in the influence game.
The orders “had a chilling effect” on the industry, said Paul Miller, president of the National Institute for Lobbying and Ethics. “It caused people to think, ‘I’ve got to find a way around this.'”
Thus the proliferation of the shadow lobbyist. People who have unregistered in each year since 2007 include those whose jobs have changed, or those who might not have needed to register in the first place but were playing it safe. But they also include those who do their fair share of lobbying work, but classify it as something different.
A 2013 study by OpenSecrets.org found that more than 46 percent of lobbyists who were registered in 2011 but not 2012 were still with the same employer, suggesting that they were continuing to contribute to lobbying efforts while avoiding the reporting limits. Industry leaders suspect this has become increasingly common in recent years.
And some, including former lawmakers, don’t have to unregister, since they never registered to begin with.
“There’s a very easy way to define yourself as a strategic adviser or someone else who, quote, ‘doesn’t lobby’… and get away with this,” said James Thurber, founder and former director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University. He cited what is frequently referred to as the Daschle loophole, named for former South Dakota Sen. Tom Daschle (D), who lost his re-election bid in 2004 and pushed through the revolving door to become a “senior policy adviser” at the law and lobbying giant Alston & Bird. After holding similar titles at several other firms and doing work that looked and sounded much like lobbying over more than a decade, Daschle recently registered as a lobbyist for the first time.
Then there are those who aren’t simply traditional “walk the halls” lobbyists who deliberately maneuver around reporting thresholds, but also people taking advantage of the ways in which technology has opened up the influence industry, Miller noted. Advocating for legislation via electronic communications, think tank support, social media and survey research often overlaps signficantly with old-school lobbying — and much, if not most, of that goes unreported.
“There are too many people doing this job and not registering,” Miller said.
Using a broad definition of shadow lobbying that includes the above activities, “there can be maybe twice or three times” the industry-reported 2015 revenue of $3.2 billion, Thurber said.
Boehner won’t be the only former lawmaker at Squire Patton Boggs, whoseextensive client list includes firms ranging from Airbus and Amazon to Wake Forest University and Walton Enterprises: Former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and former Sen. John Breaux (D-La.) have been there since 2005 and 2010, respectively; they are both registered lobbyists. Boehner’s former top advisors David Schnittger and Natasha Hammond are there, as well, as “senior policy advisers.”
Boehner’s new employment was announced just days after tobacco giant Reynolds American announced he’d be joining its board.
Patton Boggs, which was among the top three earners in the industry every year from 1998 until its 2014 merger with Squire Sanders, has long been a K Street revolving door hub, boasting a big concentration of former occupants of congressional office buildings. And it’s no surprise to see that firm or others snatch up newly available former lawmakers, who can command the highest billing rates when clients ask for their help. Of the 75 House members and senators who left the Hill at the end of the 113th Congress, at least 48.8 percent went to work for lobbying firms.
What’s ahead
Many are trying to anticipate how the next president will interact with the industry — particularly whether or not she/he will keep Obama’s restrictions, and how much their repeal might actually matter. Obama has issued waivers to allow certain former lobbyists to take positions, so it’s not as though the revolving door was slammed shut.
A new president trying to staff an administration from a limited pool of qualified individuals might not want to deal with the restrictions, which have unquestionably complicated the process. The head of the nonprofit helping the presidential transition process has urged Obama to rescind the provisions himself to remove the burden from his successor.
Donald Trump‘s views on the issue remain muddy, although some of his campaign staffers, like Paul Manafort, his campaign chairman, certainly have worked in the influence industry. But there has been “a decent amount of speculation” in the lobbying world that a Clinton presidency would bring a repeal, Burns said. Clinton, after all, is staffed by people with strong connections to the industry — such as her campaign chair, John Podesta, who helped found one of Washington’s top lobbying firms. His brother, Tony, still is chairman of the Podesta Group and has bundled funds for Clinton.
Still, even if the next administration proves kinder to lobbyists, it’s not necessarily likely that many will come out of the shadows, said Wright Andrews, a lawyer-lobbyist of nearly four decades who is best known for representing the subprime mortgage industry in the early 2000s.
“That’s the way the game is played, unfortunately,” Andrews said.
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2/15
mcconnell staff network
When Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy cast the deciding vote to gut a century of campaign finance law, he assured the public that the unlimited corporate spending he was ushering in would “not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption.” Because those authorized to give and spend unlimited amounts were legally required to remain independent of the politicians themselves, Kennedy reasoned, there was no cause for concern.
Just five years later, in a development that may be surprising only to Justice Kennedy, the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision is reshaping how, how much and to whom money flows in Washington.
How the flood of money released by Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission has changed elections has been the subject of much discussion, but the decision’s role in allowing that same money to soak the legislative process has largely gone unreported. According to an extensive review of public documents held by the FEC, the U.S. Senate and the Internal Revenue Service, as well as interviews with lobbyists and policymakers, Kennedy's allegedly independent spending has become increasingly intertwined with lobbying and legislation -- the precise appearance of corruption campaign finance laws were meant to curb.
Politically active nonprofits, known as "dark money" groups for their ability to shield the identity of donors, and super PACs, which take unlimited sums of money but must disclose donors, have become dominated by lobbyists and other political operatives with close ties to leaders in Congress. Meanwhile, businesses with issues before Congress are pumping increasingly more money into the lobbyist-connected organizations.
The Supreme Court initially established a narrow definition of corruption in the 1970s, but Citizens United used it to blow open the gates that had been holding back corporate money. The 2010 decision came as the U.S. legislative system had evolved into a near parliamentary system of party-line voting and expansive party networks extending seamlessly from the Capitol to party headquarters to lobbying firms to outside political groups. Most top congressional legislators now have "leadership teams" -- informal but internally recognized groups of aides-turned-lobbyists who help raise funds.
To the lobbyists working in the system he helped create, Kennedy’s vision of political spending is unrecognizable. "I think Justice Kennedy's view on this was naive at best," one lobbyist told The Huffington Post, reflecting a rare bipartisan consensus. "People are going to do what's allowed under the law."
The Supreme Court majority’s casual dismissal of the possibility that the Citizens United ruling could lead to corruption or the appearance of corruption was necessary from a judicial perspective. Citizens United and a subsequent lower court ruling essentially hold that the First Amendment prevents the government from restricting political spending independent of the candidates and parties. Yet the courts had long recognized Congress’ authority to regulate the financing of campaigns and the lobbying process in order to maintain the citizens’ trust in a democratic government. Where the choice had been between the sanctity of elections on the one hand and an unfettered interpretation of the First Amendment on the other, the courts chose to protect elections -- because without a trusted government, there is no First Amendment to speak of.
Kennedy and the other four justices, therefore, had to insist that independent political spending could not lead to corruption or the appearance of corruption -- no threat of corruption meant no congressional authority to regulate that spending.
It is difficult, however, to look closely at the way laws are being made today without acknowledging at least an appearance of corruption. Congressional aides to whom HuffPost spoke all said that their own members of Congress were certainly not influenced in an untoward way by the corporate funds pumped into efforts to re-elect them, but that it was easy to see why the public might assume that to be the case. Five years later, the judicial logic of Citizens United has unraveled.
Political advisers closely associated with House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) serve as both operatives on their behalf and lobbyists for corporate clients with business before Congress. The clients are encouraged to give generously to super PACs associated with the respective lawmakers, according to lobbyists familiar with the widespread strategy.
Trevor Potter, one of the top election lawyers in the country whose clients include Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and comedian Stephen Colbert, warns that this arrangement creates exactly the appearance of corruption that courts have used to justify campaign finance limits.
“It does make a significant difference to have lobbyists involved because then you have the very lobbyists who seek official action from the members being the conduits to the money,” Potter said. “It makes them valuable to their clients because they have a good relationship with the member, and they have a tight relationship with the member because they have access to the money from their clients.”
They're making use of the opportunity. A connected super PAC and nonprofit manned by lobbyists tied to Boehner have collectively received millions from interests in the insurance, drug, energy and other industries. Big-money groups associated with McConnell have been funded by coal companies, insurers and hospitals. Mining and gambling businesses have given directly to the super PAC associated with Reid, which is staffed by two Reid confidantes, one of whom advises the lobby shop that represents those companies while she also prepares to run the senator's 2016 re-election bid. All these companies have hired lobbyists who are connected to those same lawmakers as well as to the big-money groups and who are also working on issues over which Congress has much sway. The groups they fund have spent big to put and keep Boehner, McConnell and Reid in the driver’s seat.
Tony Podesta, a Democratic super lobbyist with the Podesta Group, told HuffPost that he has encouraged his corporate clients to give to super PACs and dark money nonprofits. “It’s unfortunate that we have the decision Citizens United, but as long as that’s the law of the land, then Democrats and Republicans are both active in these kinds of endeavors,” he said.
Speaker John Boehner has close ties to the American Action Network, a dark money nonprofit, and the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC. These groups raise funds from clients of lobbyists looking to increase their own influence.
In the House of Representatives, Speaker Boehner maintains a tight network of former aides who have decamped to K Street. Through these aides, he is tied to a dark money nonprofit and related super PAC that have spent millions to help him become speaker and to maintain and expand his GOP majority. The House leadership's agenda regularly aligns with that of the clients of the lobbyists who give to these groups.
The two outside groups in the middle of Boehner’s web are the American Action Network, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit that does not have to disclose its donors, and the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC operating under AAN’s umbrella.
The board of directors of AAN and Congressional Leadership Fund is lined with lobbyists and influencers including Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck strategic adviser Barry Jackson, a former chief of staff to Boehner who left his office in 2012. Brownstein’s profile of Jackson, who is not registered to lobby, focuses heavily on his congressional and executive branch connections and experience without mention of any particular policy expertise.
Also, Brownstein Hyatt employed former Boehner aide Marc Lampkin as managing director of its Washington lobbying office. His firm bio declares him to be a proud member of “Team Boehner," and he is widely seen as one of the speaker's closest advisers. He is also a lobbyist for a number of interests that contribute to super PACs and nonprofits that help Republicans in elections.
The Apollo Education Group, which owns and operates the for-profit University of Phoenix, has donated $50,000 to the Congressional Leadership Fund since 2012 while employing Lampkin to lobby on behalf of such schools. Boehner and his House Republicans have long been staunch supporters of for-profit universities. In recent years, they have fought back against federal regulations to rein in that industry, which relies hugely on its students receiving federal grants and taxpayer-backed loans while it fails to graduate those same students.
The CEO of pharmaceutical giant Abbott Laboratories, another Lampkin client, gave $50,000 to the Congressional Leadership Fund in 2012. Boehner recently inaugurated a new Abbott factory in his congressional district while opposing changes to tax laws that allowed Abbott to purchase an overseas competitor in 2014 and turn itself into a multinational corporation to avoid U.S. tax payments (the tactic, known as an inversion, has come under increasing scrutiny).
Lampkin and another former Boehner aide, Sam Geduldig, have both registered to lobby for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, a trade group for large insurance companies that has given $185,000 to outside groups supporting Republicans since 2012. PCI’s contributions include $25,000 each to the Congressional Leadership Fund and AAN.
The insurers group also pumped funds into the dark money network run by Steven Law, a member of McConnell’s inner circle and a former general counsel at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. PCI gave $75,000 to Crossroads GPS and $25,000 to the Kentucky Opportunity Coalition. Both groups are run by Law and spent millions to re-elect McConnell in 2014. PCI also put money into super PACs supporting two Republicans first elected to the Senate this past November: Joni Ernst of Iowa and David Perdue of Georgia. Their seats were among the handful McConnell needed his party to win in order for him to take the Senate’s top spot.
"PCI participates in the political process like many others and supports pro business and pro property & casualty organizations,” Marguerite Tortorello, PCI's senior vice president for public affairs, said in a statement.
Shortly after the 2014 election, the two top priorities of the insurers group and the broaderinsurance industrywere rolled into one: A provision to roll back capital standards placed on insurance companies by the Dodd-Frank financial reform law was attached to the reauthorization of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act. Although that bill stalled last year, the new Congress in January passed a terrorism insurance reauthorization with the capital standards rollback attached -- with bipartisan support. An amendment from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to strip the rollback measure failed.
The inability to pass legislation was a hallmark of the last Congress. But one area where lawmakers forced swift action wound up being profitable for the super PACs and nonprofits that support them.
In April 2013, the Federal Aviation Administration announced that it would be furloughing air traffic controllers throughout the year due to the automatic budget cuts brought about by sequestration. This would have led to flight delays, lost profits for the airline industry and lost wages for controllers and pilots. Within a week of the announcement, Congress passed legislation to ease the sequester cuts at the FAA.
http://www.alternet.org/environment/ford-revealed-funder-climate-denial-group-alec
fo mo co
Ford Motor Company, despite its much-hyped commitment to the environment, has been quietly funding the American Legislative Exchange Council [3] (ALEC), a group widely criticized for its promotion of climate change denial and for its opposition to the development of renewable alternatives to fossil fuels.
A Ford spokesperson, Christin Baker, confirmed the ALEC grant to the Center for Media and Democracy/PRWatch, but said that the funding was not intended to be used by ALEC to block action on climate change.
"Ford participates in a broad range of organizations that support our business needs, but no organization speaks for Ford on every issue. We do not engage with ALEC on climate change," said Baker.
Major Corporations Flee ALEC over Climate Denial
CMD is breaking the story of Ford funding of ALEC as other major international corporations have continued to withdraw financial support for the organization. Since CMD first launched the ALEC Exposed [4] investigation in 2011, revealing the extensive agenda of the corporate lobbying group, more than 100 corporations have left ALEC [5], including BP, Occidental, Yahoo, Visa, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Walmart, and McDonalds.
RELATED: Major Climate Denial Funders Handled $479 Million of Dark Money [6]
In September 2014, Google announced that it would end its ALEC funding. "I think the consensus within the company was that that was some sort of mistake, and so we’re trying to not do that in the future," Chairman Eric Schmidt told National Public Radio [7].
Schmidt then slammed ALEC for the deceptive claims [8] it has showcased on climate change, even though "The facts of climate change are not in question anymore. Everyone understands climate change is occurring, and the people who oppose it are really hurting our children and our grandchildren and making the world a much worse place. And so we should not be aligned with such people—they’re just, they’re just literally lying."
Most recently, Shell Oil announced it would withdraw support for ALEC in August 2015, telling the *Washington Post*: [9] "ALEC advocates for specific economic growth initiatives, but its stance on climate change is clearly inconsistent with our own."
Ford has attempted to present itself as a leader in addressing climate change, in part through its participation in the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). The compact requires corporate members to address ten principles concerning human rights, labor standards, anti-corruption, and the environment.
As part of its UNGC commitment, Ford boasts [10] that it "is committed to doing our share to prevent or reduce the potential for environmental, economic and social harm due to climate change."
Ford's funding of ALEC is inconsistent with that aim.
At a session held during the 2014 ALEC Annual Meeting in Dallas, Texas, ALEC legislators were repeatedly told: “There is no scientific consensus on the human role in climate change.” At another session during the same conference, legislators heard that: "The idea that there is a "scientific consensus" [on climate change] does not hold up."ALEC counts more than 2,000 legislators as members and it has touted its reach in Congress withformer House Speaker John Boehnerplus several GOP members of the Senate and House who have publicly denied climate change.
Despite ALEC's efforts to promote climate change denial among U.S. politicians, there is in fact wide consensus [11]that the earth is warming because of human activity. Respected scientific bodies including the National Academy of Sciences, the American Medical Association, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, along with 97% of climate scientists agree on this point.
Earlier this year, CMD/PRwatch co-launched a new website that documents the teaching of climate change denial to legislators at ALEC conferences: ALECClimateChangeDenial.org [12].
ALEC's next meeting is in Scottsdale, Arizona, at the same time as the UNFCC's COP 21 meeting on climate change will be taking place in Paris, France.
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5/15 epa water rule:
But House Speaker John Boehner accused the president of delivering yet another devastating blow to the economy.
“The administration’s decree to unilaterally expand federal authority is a raw and tyrannical power grab that will crush jobs,” the Ohio Republican said in a statement. “[T]he rule is being shoved down the throats of hardworking people with no input, and places landowners, small businesses, farmers and manufacturers on the road to a regulatory and economic hell.”
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Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/epa-waterways-wetlands-rule-118319.html#ixzz3bYvABf00}:
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2014 pos tends to be i'm not expert on climate sidestep) but bill hurt economy
CA water:
By LOIS HENRY, Californian columnist lhenry@bakersfield.com
House Speaker John Boehner dug his shiny loafers into a swath of powder dry Kern County dirt on Wednesday and promised to move quickly on legislation aimed at easing the pain of California's historic drought.
Boehner and his partners on the legislation -- House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Visalia, and Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford -- all agreed that, yes, the drought is the biggest obstacle to farmers getting adequate water in the near term.
But they denounced as "idiocy" and "nonsense" California's management of its water system.
"In my part of the world we would shake our heads at how things work here, " Boehner said. "It's nonsense that a bureaucracy would favor fish over people."
He referred to the delta smelt and other fish protected under the Endangered Species Act. In an attempt to bolster those populations, water exports from the San Joaquin-Sacramento delta have been curtailed.
The proposed bill would attempt to bring "reason" to how the system is managed, if only during the drought emergency, the politicians said.
The bill has yet to be written, but its three main prongs would seek to increase pumping out of the delta -- if water is available -- to agreed-upon 1994 levels, suspend the San Joaquin River restoration settlement and create a Senate-House task force to come up with long term solutions.
The consequences of the drought were brought into sharp focus when local farmer Larry Starrh talked about his family being forced to let 1,000 acres of productive almond trees die this year for lack of water.
"Water is life," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "But sadly in this world, water has become about power, water is used as a weapon."...
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dereg:
http://web.archive.org/web/20080510143117/http://www.bushgreenwatch.org/mt_archives/000313.php
| June 23, 2006 | Back Issues | « previous | next » |
White House, GOP Leaders Plan All-Out Assault on Federal Protections
Apparently rushing to lock in a long-sought goal before the fall elections, GOP congressional leaders may bring to a vote within weeks a proposal that could literally wipe out any federal program that protects public health or the environment--or for that matter civil rights, poverty programs, auto safety, education, affordable housing, Head Start, workplace safety or any other activity targeted by anti-regulatory forces.
With strong support from the Bush White House and the Republican Study Committee, the proposal would create a "sunset commission"--an unelected body with the power to recommend whether a program lives or dies, and then move its recommendations through Congress on a fast-track basis with limited debate and no amendments.
Three leading proposals have been introduced and are being winnowed into a final version. They would give the White House some--or total--authority to nominate members to the commission. House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) has confirmed that his office is coordinating development of a final version for prompt floor action.
Sunset commissions have been proposed, and defeated, before. But public interest veterans say the current situation is unlike any in the past, because the House Republican Study Committee, which includes some of the most anti-regulatory members of Congress, has secured guaranteed floor consideration of a sunset bill.
If such a bill should become law, the sunset commission could be packed with industry lobbyists and representatives from industry-funded think tanks, and could conduct its business in secrecy. Two of the sunset proposals under consideration would mandate that programs die after they are reviewed, unless Congress takes action to save them.
Several environmental programs have been targeted during past sunset attempts. Experts predict those would be among the first a sunset commission would review. Among them: the Energy Star Program; federal support for mass transit; the State Energy Program, which supports numerous state and local energy renewable efficiency programs; the Clean School Bus Program; the Land and Water Conservation Fund; federal grants for Wastewater infrastructure; a national children's health study that examines factors leading to such problems as premature birth, autism, obesity, asthma, and exposures to pesticides, mercury and other toxic chemicals.
A coalition of public interest groups is fighting to block enactment of a sunset commission. Information is available through the Sunset Commission Action Center at OMB Watch.
Meanwhile, Republicans who do believe in global warming get shunted aside. ...Gannett News Service recently reported that Rep. Wayne Gilchrest asked to be on the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio refused to allow it unless Gilchrest would say that humans have not contributed to global warming. The Maryland Republican refused and was denied a seat.
Reps. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) and Vernon Ehlers (R-Mich.), both research scientists, also were denied seats on the committee. Normally, relevant expertise would be considered an advantage. In this case, it was a disqualification; if the GOP allowed Republican researchers who accept the scientific consensus to sit on a global warming panel, it would kill the party's strategy of making global warming seem to be the pet obsession of Democrats and Hollywood lefties.
John Boehner’s discouraging view of climate science
By Editorial Board, Published: November 13
SPEAKER JOHN BOEHNER has made some encouraging statements since last week’s election, pointing toward productive policy-making. This was not one of them:
“I don’t think there’s any doubt that we’ve had climate change over the last 100 years,” he told USA Today. “What has initiated it, though, has sparked a debate that’s gone on now for the last 10 years.”
The Ohio Republican continued: “I don’t think we’re any closer to the answer than we were 10 years ago.”
President Obama recently sounded some positive notes on climate change, perhaps the most neglected big issue of the 2012 campaign. His comments rekindled hopes of environmentalists that his second term will see more aggressive policymaking to combat global warming than did his first. Mr. Boehner’s words, which appear to mischaracterize the scientific debate on global warming, indicate that blinkered Republican opposition to doing much of anything about the problem may persist.
Climate science is complicated, but the basic physical principles on which the scientific consensus is based are not. Gases such as carbon dioxide trap the energy that pours down on the Earth from the sun, making the Earth habitable. Since the middle of the 20th century, scientists have studied the warming effects of adding large amounts of additional heat-trapping gases to the atmosphere, and they have made great progress since then in describing how and why the world is warming, and how that trend is likely to play out years and decades from now.
Scientists use real-world observations to describe the climate’s past, recent and distant. Then they build complex models that reflect those and other observations and run them on supercomputers. After decades of this, nearly every expert agrees that global warming is a problem and that a chief cause is the oil, gas and coal burned by humans. The biggest question now is not whether human-produced greenhouse emissions have an effect but how significant that effect will be.
In Mr. Boehner’s “last 10 years” alone, the models and the quality of the information that feeds into them have gotten progressively better. Just last week, the journal Science published a study from two climate researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research that addresses the behavior of clouds in different climate models, one of the primary sources of continuing uncertainty about how sensitive the climate will be to increased levels of carbon dioxide. Using satellite measurements of relative humidity, they determined that the models that predict relatively modest warming did not reflect the satellite record as well as those predicting much more alarming outcomes. In other words, the more pessimistic models are likely to be more accurate.
Predictions about the future climate must be tempered by an appreciation of the uncertainties inherent to describing extremely complicated earth systems. But the risks of global warming that decades of science describe are clearly great enough to warrant action.
Mr. Boehner’s office told us that the speaker was talking about the stagnation of the policy debate over the last 10 years, not the state of the science. If that’s the case, then he should be willing to stand up for the climate researchers and push Washington’s policy deliberations into accord with the science.
© The Washington Post Company
http://www.publicintegrity.org/2012/06/20/9145/us-chamber-gop-block-election-ad-transparency-bill
DISCLOSE ACT beat by US CoC/gop:
In 2010, legislation introduced by Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., would require nonprofits that buy political ads to disclose their donors. The bill — fought by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nation's most powerful business lobby — failed. A stripped-down version introduced this year has been blocked by Republicans in both the House and Senate.
The Chamber claims disclosure would “silence free speech.” Critics say its opposition is more about shielding the business association’s corporate donors from a potential public backlash.
While a handful of moderate Republicans, most notably campaign finance reform champion Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., have considered taking up the bill this year, it’s still considered a longshot.
Republican House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio also opposes the bill. His office did not did not respond to requests for comment for this story, but Boehner said the 2010 version was a "backroom deal to shred our Constitution for raw, ugly, partisan gain."
But in 2007, Boehner said on “Meet the Press” that there should be “full disclosure of all of the money that we raise and how it is spent.” And seven years before that, McConnell said on the same show that “Republicans are in favor of disclosure.”
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Meanwhile, Republicans who do believe in global warming get shunted aside. ...Gannett News Service recently reported that Rep. Wayne Gilchrest asked to be on the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio refused to allow it unless Gilchrest would say that humans have not contributed to global warming. The Maryland Republican refused and was denied a seat.
...The Chamber, Boehner and McConnell: A Love Story
Speaker-elect Boehner’s relationship with the U.S. Chamber is well-documented. In a New York Times profile of him, Boehner’s comeback to power is explained: “It is his reputation as a ‘Chamber of Commerce’ Republican and his fund-raising skills — he has raised $36 million for Republican causes during this election cycle, more than almost anyone else in his party — that explain, in part, his rise.”5
One of Boehner’s top individual donors was a U.S. Chamber lobbyist,6 and this year, Boehner invited the Chamber’s top lobbyist to attend a controversial closed-door meeting about the America Speaking Out project.7 On issue after issue that pits the U.S. Chamber against the mainstream business community and the general public, Boehner adopts the Chamber’s talking points. Most egregiously, after U.S. Chamber President Tom Donohue made headlines saying that American taxpayers should help pay for the BP oil spill cleanup, Boehner agreed: “I think the people responsible in the oil spill--BP and the federal government--should take full responsibility for what's happening there,” he said.
Proposed Bill Gives Coal Companies Unlimited Power
by Roberta Seldon on April 24, 2012
U.S. coal companies may end up with unlimited power if a bill Congress is currently considering becomes law – and that could lead to further destruction of the environment while posing a serious risk to the health of the general public.
The Coal Miner Employment and Domestic Energy Infrastructure Protection Act, also known as H.R.3409, has been touted by Republicans as a job-saving plan. H.R.3409 “prevents the Obama Administration’s unnecessary and rushed rewrite of a coal mining regulation that took over five years of environmental analysis and careful scientific consideration to complete,” a press release appearing on the Natural Resources Committee’s website says.
“We are now one step closer to stopping President Obama’s war on the coal industry and the jobs that go with it. There is no question that coal is vital to providing reliable, low cost electricity to America. This important legislation would block President Obama’s proposed rewrite of the Stream Buffer Zone rule that would cost over 100,000 direct and indirect coal jobs and cause energy prices to skyrocket,” Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) who sponsored the proposed bill, said, according to the press release.
“Right now, Americans are experiencing firsthand President Obama’s destructive energy policies that are continuing to make our economy worse. Since the President took office, gas prices at the pump have doubled, unemployment has increased, and Americans are paying, on average, $300 more per year for electricity. Hard-working Americans cannot afford this administration’s failed energy policies anymore.”
According to the text of the proposed legislation, H.R.3409 would also prohibit the Secretary of the Interior – before December 31, 2013 – from issuing or approving any proposed or final regulation under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 that would:
adversely impact employment in coal mines in the United States;
cause a reduction in revenue received by the Federal Government or any State, tribal, or local government, by reducing through regulation the amount of coal in the United States that is available for mining;
reduce the amount of coal available for domestic consumption or for export;
designate any area as unsuitable for surface coal mining and reclamation operations; or
expose the United States to liability for taking the value of privately owned coal through regulation
The legislation was co-sponsored by 18 members of Congress:
Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett (R-Md.)
Rep. Rick Berg (R-N.D.)
Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.)
Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.)
Rep. Bill Flores (R-Texas)
Rep. Paul A. Gosar (R-Ariz.)
Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.)
Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.)
Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.)
Rep. Steven C. LaTourette (R-Ohio)
Rep. David B. McKinley (R-W.Va.)
Rep. David P. Roe (R-Tenn.)
Rep. Harold Rogers (R-Ky.)
Rep. Todd Rokita (R-Ind.)
Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.)
Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio)
Rep. Patrick J. Tiberi (R-Ohio)
Rep. Don Young (R-Ala.)
http://securityandsustainabilityforum.org/proposed-bill-gives-coal-companies-unlimited-power-2620
The political action committee of Representative John Boehner of Ohio, who is in line to become speaker if Republicans capture the House, has received more than $300,000 from mining interests, most of it from coal companies. The industry is counting on Mr. Boehner to reverse the current Democratic leadership's refusal to allow a vote on the measure blocking E.P.A. carbon regulation.[5]
limus test for comm: Gannett News Service recently reported that Rep. Wayne Gilchrest asked to be on the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio refused to allow it unless Gilchrest would say that humans have not contributed to global warming. The Maryland Republican refused and was denied a seat.
wsj:
BY BRODY MULLINS
U.S. coal companies have pumped $1.5 million into House Speaker John Boehner's political operation this year, a sign of the industry's beefed-up efforts to fight new and proposed regulations from the Obama administration.
The coal industry now ranks as one of the top sources of cash for the Ohio Republican, rivaling such perennial GOP donors as Wall Street and the real-estate industry. A large part of the coal industry's donations came in a single week at the end of June.
Donations from coal-industry interests account for more than 10% of the $12.5 million Mr. Boehner collected from Jan. 1 to ...
mojo:
The coal industry adores House Speaker John Boehner, now more than ever. From Tuesday's Wall Street Journal:
Donations from coal-industry interests account for more than 10% of the $12.5 million Mr. Boehner collected from Jan. 1 to June 30 for fundraising accounts he directly controls. Mr. Boehner's personal campaign account collected less than $200,000 from the coal industry during the entire 2009-10 election cycle.
That means the coal industry's now giving Boehner 24 times more the monthly contributions it gave him during 2009-10. Among Boehner's top current donors is one of the Koch brothers, William, who heads Oxbow Corporation—an energy conglomerate with coal, natural gas, steel, and petroleum operations worth $4 billion in annual sales. In general, the Journal reports, the coal industry has ramped up its political giving since Obama was elected president, more than doubling its 2008 contributions in the latest election cycle, with about 75 percent of donations going to Republicans.
A Boehner spokesman assured the Journal that coal-industry giving constitutes a small fraction of the $30 million or so the speaker has raised for the Republican Party this year. But even if Boehner doesn't find the coal industry's givings significant, the spike in coal-backed donations to the House leader hasn't gone unthanked, either, as the Journal points out, and as we've reported here before. Notably, since November 2010 the House has voted to prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse-gas emissions from coal-fired power plants and approved a bill that would strip the EPA's authority to veto water permits issued by the Army Corps of Engineers.
All in all, under the current GOP-led House there've been some 125 votes to undermine environmental protection, from cutting funding for the EPA, the Department of Energy, and the Department of the Interior, limiting agencies' authority to enforce the Clean Water Act and blocking the US from contributing to the international governing body on climate change. The legislative attack on environmental protection prompted a backlash from Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, who on Monday called the House "the most anti-environment" in history upon releasing a search-and-sortable database of the 125 votes. (MoJo reporter Kate Sheppard has more on this.)
The swell in coal contributions to Boehner secures his place as the industry's number-two favorite recipient, according data from the Center for Responsive Politics. Oxbow spokesman Brad Goldstein wrapped up the industry's sentiment for the speaker unabashedly:
We are a big supporter of John Boehner. We think he's good for business…He looks out for business interests, and he wants to create more jobs for America, while this administration has been rather harsh on the industry.
wiki;
NCLB
Contract With America
Boehner, along with Newt Gingrich and several other Republican lawmakers, was one of the engineers of the Contract with America in 1994 that helped catapult Republicans into the majority in Congress for the first time in four decades.
[edit] Legislative accomplishments
From 1995 to 1999, Boehner served as House Republican Conference Chairman. There he championed the Freedom to Farm Act.
Following the election of President George W. Bush, Boehner was elected as chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee from 2001 until 2006. There he authored several reforms including the Pension Protection Act and a successful school choice program for low-income children in Washington, DC.[3] He was also a major force in the passage of No Child Left Behind, saying it was his “proudest achievement” in two decades of public service.[4]
[edit] Congressional leadership
Boehner was elected by his colleagues to serve as House Majority Leader on February 2, 2006. The election followed Tom DeLay's resignation from the post after being indicted on criminal charges.
Boehner campaigned as a reform candidate who wanted to reform the so-called "earmark" process and rein in government spending. He defeated Majority Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri and Representative John Shadegg of Arizona, even though he was considered an underdog candidate to Blunt. In the second round of voting by the House Republican Conference, Boehner received 122 votes compared to 109 for Blunt. Blunt kept his previous position as Majority Whip, the No. 3 leadership position in the House. (There was some confusion on the first ballot for Majority Leader as the first count showed one more vote cast than Republicans present,[5] due to a misunderstanding as to whether the rules allowed Resident Commissioner Luis Fortuño of Puerto Rico to vote or not.[6])
After the Republicans lost control of the House in the 2006 elections, the House Republican Conference elected Boehner Minority Leader. Elected on January 4, 2007, he is the highest-ranking Republican in the House. According to the 2008 Congress.org Power Ranking, Boehner is the 6th most powerful congressman (preceded by Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Hoyer, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sander M. Levin, Dean of the House John Dingell, and Appropriations Committee Chairman Dave Obey, all Democrats) and the most powerful Republican.[7] As Minority Leader, Boehner serves as an ex officio member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
[edit] Congressional record
A profile in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review said, "On both sides of the aisle, Boehner earns praise for candor and an ability to listen."[8] And the
John Andrew Boehner, a Republican, has represented the 8th Congressional district of Ohio in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1993. He is the Speaker of the House, 112th Congress since January 2011. Boehner previously served as the House Majority Leader from 2006 until 2007 and House Minority Leader from 2007 until 2010.[1]
Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council
Boehner is an alumnus of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), being a member when he was an Ohio State Representative from 1985-1990. During the time that he was Education and Workforce Committee Chairman, ALEC began a new alumni forum for former members who serve in public office, called the "ALEC Alumni Forum." It was launched in 2001 and is "charged with developing a national forum to encourage improved communications among current and former ALEC members. Alumni Forum activities will include special investigations and speaking engagements at major ALEC events, and joint policy members with state and national leaders. . . . Through the Alumni Forum program, ALEC will seek the support of its former members in the development of reforms that reflect the principles of the organization at all levels of government."[2]
Boehner v. McDermott
On Monday, June 26, 2006, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Colubmia stated that they will hear McDermott’s appeal of a case about an illegally recorded taped telephone conversation told to reporters by Rep Jim McDermott.
In March, the appeals court ruled that McDermott violated federal law by releasing a taped conversation taking place in 1996 of former House Speaker, Newt Gingrich, R-Ga. According to the Boston Globe, “The 2-1 opinion upheld a lower court ruling that McDermott violated the rights of Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, who was heard on the 1996 call.”[9]
Boehner hands out 'tobacco checks' on floor of House
In late June of 1995 then-GOP Conference Chairman John Boehner handed out "about a half-dozen" checks from the political action committee of tobacco company Brown & Williamson Corp. to fellow Republicans on the floor of the House.
Boehner's chief of staff Barry Jackson stated, "We were trying to help guys who needed to get their June 30th numbers up, their cash-on-hand numbers up. All leadership does this. We have to raise money for people and help them raise money."
Boehner was forced to stop handed out the checks when two freshmen Republicans, "appalled by it," confronted him and voiced their displeasure. Boehner's reaction was one of tempered apology, "I thought, 'Yeah, I can imagine why somebody would be upset. It sure doesn't look good.' It's not an excuse, but the floor is the only place you get to see your colleagues. It was a matter of convenience. You make a mistake, admit it and go on. I just feel bad about it." (Associated Press, 5/10/96)
Sallie Mae and For-Profit Schools
The single largest contributor to Boehner's leadership PAC since 1989 is Sallie Mae, the student lending giant, with contributions totaling $122,000.[10]
Boehner, until his recent ascension to the Majority Leader post, was the chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. In this position Boehner was able to oversee and push issues favorable to the student loan industry, including Sallie Mae. Boehner recently championed a bill that would "soften [proposed] cuts to lenders" and "deal a serious blow to the competing direct-loan program."[11] The direct-loan program provides loans directly to students through their school, rather than through private lenders and banks. The bill also sought to prevent students from consolidating their loans.
According to The New Republic, "Several GAO and CBO studies have found that the direct-lending program costs taxpayers much less than extending loans through lenders like Sallie Mae. Government watchdogs have estimated that every dollar loaned through these middlemen costs the federal government at least 9 cents."[12]
Prior to pushing the bill, which was eventually passed and signed by President Bush, Boehner delivered this comforting message to the Consumer Bankers Association, "Know that I have all of you in my two trusted hands. I've got enough rabbits up my sleeve to be able to get where we need to."[13]
Boehner has "[o]n several occassions ... been a guest of Albert L. Lord, Sallie Mae's chief executive officer, on the corporate jet, primarily for golf outings in Florida. The company also helped sponsor a party that Mr. Boehner threw in New York at the 2004 Republican National Convention."[14]
Boehner's leadership PAC has also received a large amount of money from for-profit schools, who have gained from Boehner's chairmanship of the Education and Workforce Committee. From 2003-2004 Boehner's PAC received $102,000 from for-profit schools.[15]
During the current legislative session Boehner, with the aid of Rep. Buck McKeon, was successful in pushing for the elimination of the 50 percent rule, which stipulated that for a college to receive federal student aid it must teach half of its classes on campus rather than online.[16] The Washington Post reports that opponents of the rule change include "the United States Student Association, American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, the National Association for College Admission Counseling and the American Federation of Teachers."
The for-profit school industry has suffered a number of scandals recently. The largest for-profit, the University of Phoenix, "was fined $9.8 million by federal regulators who concluded it was so focused on boosting enrollment that it pressured recruiters to accept unqualified students."[17]
Abramoff connection
Since 2000, Boehner's political action committee, the Freedom Project, has raised approximately $32,000 from four of Jack Abramoff's tribal clients.
Boehner, Chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, "received $32,500 in political contributions from Indian tribes represented by fallen lobbyist Jack Abramoff, placing him in the top tier of lawmakers who got donations from the lobbyist or his clients," Michael Collins reported in the January 5, 2006, Cincinnati Post.
"In all, 17 current and former members of Congress from Ohio and Kentucky received campaign donations from either Abramoff or one of the tribes he represents," Collins wrote, with Boehner leading "the pack, taking in even more money than Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, who has become one of the central figures in the political corruption investigation that brought Abramoff down. Ney received $31,500 in donations from Abramoff and his clients - $1,000 less than Boehner, the report said."
"Boehner, for example, did not get any political contributions directly from Abramoff, but his political-action committee did get money from four tribes represented by the lobbyist, the report said.
"The Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana gave $15,000 to Boehner's leadership PAC, the Freedom Project. The other contributions came from the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, which gave $9,500; the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, which donated $7,000; and the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, which gave $1,000. Boehner chairs the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and is said to be considering a run for House majority leader," Collins wrote.
Rents basement apartment from lobbyist
On February 8, 2006 the Washington Post reported that John Boehner rents a Capitol Hill basement apartment from a lobbyist whose clients lobby on issues that came before Boehner when he chaired the Education and Workforce Committee.
According to the Post, John Milne, the owner of the rented property, was hired by Fortis Health Plans to lobby on the Economic Security and Worker Assistance Act, which was co-authored by Boehner. Milne has also been hired to lobby on minimum wage increases and tax credits for tips, both issues overseen by the Education and Workforce Committee. Milne denies ever lobbying Boehner directly.
Tom Edsall, the Post author, writes: "The relationship between Boehner, John D. Milne and Milne's wife, Debra R. Anderson, underscores how intertwined senior lawmakers have become with the lobbyists paid to influence legislation."[18]
Actions as majority leader
On July 15, the New York Times reported that Boehner had raised campaign contributions at a rate of $10,000 per day since becoming House Majority Leader in February 2006. [[19]](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/15/washington/15boehner.html?_r=2&hp&ex=1152936000&en=f4395c151bee2b3e&ei=5094&partner=homepage&oref=slogin&oref=login) Boehner's Freedom Project collected $759,238 from February through June 2006, Federal Election Commission figures show. In comparison, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's Americans for a Republican Majority raised $688,511 during those same months in 2004. [20]
His biggest donors were the political action committees of lobbying firms, drug and cigarette makers, banks, health insurers, oil companies, military contractors, and Native American tribes. Despite high scrutiny on congressional trip-taking, Boehner flew to a golf resort in Boca Raton, Florida in March 2006 for a convention of commodities traders, who have contributed more than $100,000 to his campaigns and are currently lobbying against a proposed tax on futures transactions.
In addition, Boehner’s campaign committees hired two people in 2006 from the financial and insurance industry’s lobbying wing. One of the hires, Amy Hobart, worked for Boehner before becoming political affairs manager at the Bond Market Association. The group has contributed $50,000 to Boehner and once lobbied for his legislation aimed at loosening investment restrictions on pension fund managers. [[21]](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/15/washington/15boehner.html?_r=2&hp&ex=1152936000&en=f4395c151bee2b3e&ei=5094&partner=homepage&oref=slogin&oref=login)
Rep. Mark Foley congressional page scandal
On September 29, Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) announced his resignation from the House following the public revelation of "over-friendly" emails and sexually suggestive instant messages he had sent teenage congressional pages. Following the announcement, Boehner contradicted himself several times regarding his previous knowledge of the emails, as well as if and when he contacted House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) regarding the matter.
- Read a full account of the Mark Foley page scandal
Civil suit
In 1998, Boehner filed suit against Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wa.) for disclosing to the press an "illegally intercepted" cell phone call involving Boehner and other Republican leaders.[5] In April 2008, a federal judge ordered McDermott to pay nearly $1.2 million in penalties and legal fees to Boehner, settling the decade-long legal dispute between the two gentlemen.[6]
Flight compensation
In March 2007, a liaison from Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) met with Minority Leader Boehner's office in order to amend the House rules regarding compensation for Congressional air travel. The rules were changed in January, requiring Congressmen to pay non-commercial aircraft owners the full price of a ticket, which the FAA rules prohibit. While this has prevented Members from using lobbyists aircraft, it also grounded several personal aircraft amongst Democratic and Republican Lawmakers. Pelosi was attempting to change the rules via voice-vote, (which required unanimous consent) but Boehner has refused to consider "piecemeal changes" and was holding out for other Rules changes regarding earmarks.
Eventually, on May 2 2007, the House voted by voice vote on H.R.363 to remove airplane travel restrictions. The measure was sponsored by Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and Rep. Samuel Graves (R-Mo.). The new rules allow members to fly in a friend's airplane for free. The rules change also provides that members who are certified pilots may again fly their own aircraft.
Main article: U.S. federal ethics, transparency, and campaign finance legislation, 110th Congress
Budget
In January 2007, when Congress passed a continuing resolution to keep the federal government operating for the remainder of the 2007 fiscal year, the bill effectively stripped earmarks which had been inserted into House spending bills in 2006 (which were not passed by the Senate). The funds which would have gone towards earmarks were instead allotted to federal agencies, who would then have the power to determine how the funds would be spent. In response, Minority Leader Boehner stated:
“I have consistently stated that Republicans are eager to work with Democrats for the good of the country we were all elected to serve, but that we will hold them accountable for their promises at the same time. Democrats promised this massive spending bill would be earmark-free, but then gave us a bill that includes hundreds of millions of dollars worth of funding for earmarked pork projects. And it is clear that the best interests of the American people – transparency and accountability – were not a priority for Democrats when they crafted this massive spending bill…Republicans offered a common sense proposal to slash hundreds of millions of dollars from earmarks the Democrats overlooked and use those funds to pay for critically-needed housing for military families, to restore funding for the fight against methamphetamine abuse, and to reduce the federal budget deficit. It’s unfortunate Democrats decided to break their pledge on earmarks at the expense of these higher priorities. The majority’s decision is out of step with the priorities of the American people.”
Main article: Continuing resolution of 2007
As Minority Leader, Boehner was heavily involved in the June 2007 debate over the FY2008 appropriations bills. House Republicans argued for greater transparency with earmarks in the bills. After having successfully stalled passage of the budget measures and attempting to come to an agreement, on June 14, Boehner and Republican negotiators claimed a victory at a press conference, but House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) called the GOP announcement premature and purely political. By that evening, however, a final deal had been forged by Majority Leader Hoyer, Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.), and Minority Leader Boehner. The agreement still allowed the Homeland Security and Military Construction bills, which typically include few earmarks, to move to conference committee without earmarks, where they would then be added. The remaining 10 appropriations bills, however, would list their earmarks up front, and any earmarks later added in conference would be allowed to come up on the House floor upon final consideration.
Main article: Congressional actions on the federal budget/110th Congress
Ethics reform
On February 1, 2007, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Minority Leader Boehner announced the creation of a "task force" to study implementation of an outside ethics body to oversee Congress. The task force, chaired by Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass.), issued it's report to the House in May 2007.
House delegate voting rights
On January 24, 2007, after Democrats took control of the House following the 2006 congressional elections, a rule change was again passed providing delegates and the resident commissioner with limited voting rights. The change allowed delegates and the resident commissioner (4 of 5 of whom were Democrats) to vote on the House floor in the "Committee of the Whole," whereby bills are debated and amendments are added. The rule, however, stipulated that if a delegate's vote was decisive, the committee would disband and a new vote would be taken without the non-voting members.[7]
House Minority Leader Boehner called it, “An outrageous grab of power by the majority,” while Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) argued it amounted to, “Representation without taxation.”[8]
Main article: Voting rights in the District of Columbia
August 2007 House voting controversy
When controversy erupted following a contested vote on the FY2008 agriculture appropriations bill on August 2, 2007, Boehner at first attempted to work with Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), both agreeing to initiate some sort of investigation into the affair. However, Boehner was persuaded by more conservative members of his party and the Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) to peruse confrontation with the Democrats through procedural tactics. Boehner was able to pass, with Democratic support, a resolution creating a select committee to investigate the August 2 contested vote, but was blocked, however, when he tried to bring a vote on a resolution to rebuke Rep. John Murtha (D-Penn.) for his actions regarding the issue while presiding over the House. Democrats successfully tabled that resolution, with Majority Leader Hoyer stating "enough is enough" in response to the GOP's actions. Boehner expressed outrage that such a statement did not initiate an hour of debate over the resolution, as House rules would have required. Democrats claimed that the presiding chair had not recognized the Majority Leader, and therefore his remarks were not a part of the official record.
Main article: August 2007 House voting controversy
Condemnation of MoveOn.org advertisement
Before the September 10 testimony of General David Petraeus, MoveOn.org bought a full-page newspaper ad with a caption “General Petraeus or General Betray Us?” The ad sought to portray Petraeus's testimony as motivated by politics rather than the truth.[9]
Boehner introduced a resolution to condemn the advertisement, saying “The despicable attack MoveOn.org launched against General Petraeus today should be condemned by all Members of Congress, including the Democratic leadership. I urge Members on both sides of the aisle to join in support of this resolution so the House speaks with one voice rejecting the character assassination tactics employed by this extremist group.”[10]
Bio
Early life
Boehner (pronounced bay-ner) was born November 17, 1949 in Cincinnati, Ohio, attended Moeller High School and received a bachelor of science degree from Xavier University (Cincinnati) in 1977 and worked as a businessman.
Boehner grew up as one of twelve children in Reading, a neighborhood in Cincinnati. He started working at his father Earl Boehner's cafe, inexplicably called Andy's Cafe, mopping and cleaning up. Boehner remembers, "This was the cleanest place you've ever seen. If the floor wasn't clean, you had to do it over again."
In 1969 Boehner graduated from high school and joined the Navy. He was given an honorable discharge after only six weeks when it was discovered that he had back problems. He then took on a number of odd jobs to pay his way to a degree in business administration at Xavier. He graduated from Xavier in 1977, a year after taking over a plastic packaging business, Nucite Sales Inc. (Cincinnati Post, March 12, 1995)
Political career
In 1981 Boehner served on the board of trustees of Union Township, Butler County, Ohio. In 1984, he served as president of the township board of trustees.
Boehner served as an Ohio state representative from 1985 to 1990. In 1990, when U.S. Rep. Donald "Buz" Lukens (R-Ohio) was caught in a sex scandal involving a minor, Boehner challenged Lukens in the Republican primary and defeated the incumbent, while also upsetting the district's former representative, Tom Kindness, who Boehner declared had abandoned his district to become a lobbyist. Boehner went on to victory in the 1990 general election and began serving in the U.S. House of Representatives the 102nd Congress.
Gang of Seven
He was a member of the Gang of Seven, a group of seven freshmen Republicans who assailed the Democratic leadership with accusations of corruption and arrogance over the misuse of the House Bank. According to a 1992 San Francisco Chronicle article the Gang "set the match to the bank scandal that has now engulfed the House, blackened its leadership and sparked a 'spontaneous political combustion' that many analysts say will fuel a record turnover in Congress." (San Francisco Chronicle, 3/30/02)
Boehner told the Cleveland Plain Dealer: "I came as a reformer. But when people in charge don't want to reform - the only way...is revolution." (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 2/15/93)
The banking scandal involved 355 members, Democrats and Republicans, writing 8,331 overdrafts to the bank. The Gang pounced on the issue and forced the Democrats into a corner and eventually led to the tidal wave Republican Revolution of 1994.
1990s leadership
Boehner came to Congress as one of the most pro-business, anti-government members in 1990. He advocated a flat tax and abolition of whole government agencies including the Department of Education and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Boehner quickly rose to the fourth highest position in the Republican leadership - Republican Conference Chairman - after chairing Newt Gingrich's 1994 run for the Minority Leader post.
Boehner was on of the principal architects of the Contract With America. He also championed the 1996 Freedom to Farm Act.
When Newt Gingrich resigned his post as Speaker in the wake of the GOPs loss of seats in the 1998 election Boehner's leadership post was challenged by J.C. Watts, the only black Republican congressman. Boehner lost to Watts 121-93.
Education and Workforce Chairman
In 2001 Boehner was named the Chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee where he would oversee numerous agencies that he planned on abolishing in the early 1990s. Boehner worked diligently to pass [[President Bush]]'s No Child Left Behind Act, reaching across the aisle as a conference committee chairman to work with Democrat George Miller (D).
Boehner has also been a strong supporter of school vouchers for private and religious schools and helped to push through the school voucher program for the District of Columbia.
Boehner has repeatedly tried to get a pension reform bill, favored by business leaders, passed by Congress. It has passed the House multiple times, but has consistently failed in the Senate.
Majority Leader
Boehner was elected House Majority Leader on February 2, 2006, following Tom DeLay's departure because of a criminal indictment.
There was brief controversy on the first ballot for Majority Leader. The first count showed more votes cast than Republicans present at the Conference meeting.[22] However, this turned out to be due to a misunderstanding on whether or not Congressman Luis Fortuño was allowed to vote on leadership. [23]
Boehner campaigned as a reform candidate who could help the House Republicans cleanse and recover from the political damage caused by charges of ethics violations, corruption and money laundering leveled against prominent conservatives such as DeLay and disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, in spite of his own ties to Abramoff.
He bested fellow candidates Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri and Rep. John Shadegg of Arizona, even though he was considered an underdog candidate to House Majority Whip Blunt. It was the most contested election among House Republicans since 1998. Boehner received 122 votes compared to 109 by Blunt in a run-off vote. Rep. Shadegg dropped out of the race after a loss in the first round of voting and his supporters backed Boehner.
Blunt kept his previous position as Majority Whip, the No. 3 leadership position in the House. Boehner has a strong pro-business reputation but the social conservatives in the GOP are questioning his commitment to their values. According to the Washington Post "From illegal immigration to sanctions on China to an overhaul of the pension system, Boehner, as chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, took ardently pro-business positions that were contrary to those of many in his party. Religious conservatives -- examining his voting record -- see him as a policymaker driven by small-government economic concerns, not theirs..... [He opposes] a tough illegal immigration bill that passed in December [2005] with overwhelming Republican support over Boehner's opposition. One provision in the bill would mandate that every business verify the legality of every employee through the federal terrorism watch list and a database of Social Security numbers. For the bill's authors, the measure is central to choking off illegal immigrants' employment opportunities. To business groups and Boehner, it is unworkable." Feb 12, 2006
Boehner has since backtracked on his reform platform, stalling on lobbying and ethics reform proposals put forward by Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier (R-CA). Boehner stated on "Fox New Sunday" that Congress may be overreacting to the current lobbying scandal and voiced his opposition to a proposed congressional travel ban and a ban of earmark projects. The Washington Post writes that Boehner's ascension to the Majority Leader post "make[s] it less likely that the more far-reaching proposals to restructure lobbying will become law."[24] Boehner called the travel ban proposal "childish" in another interview.
Boehner is one of the top recipients of private travel, ranking 7th out of 638 members and former members at American Radio Works Power Trips.[25] His trip totals cost $157,603.85.
2006 elections
The Democrats nominated Mort Meier to challenge Boehner in the 2006 congressional elections. Boehner defeated Meier, receiving 64% of the vote. [26] As a result of the Democrats winning the House in the elections, Boehner lost his post of majority leader. He was elected minority leader for the 110th Congress.
Money in politics
This section contains links to – and feeds from – money in politics databases. cid=N00003675&cycle=2006
Links to more campaign contribution information for John Boehner from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org site. | Links to more campaign contribution information for John Boehner from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org site. | Links to more campaign contribution information for John Boehner from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org site. |
|---|---|---|
| Fundraising profile: | 2006 election cycle | Career totals |
| Top contributors by organization/corporation: | 2006 election cycle | Career totals |
| Top contributors by industry: | 2006 election cycle | Career totals |
- Revolving door profile for John Boehner from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.
- 2006 privately funded travel profile for John Boehner from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.
- Personal finance profile for John Boehner from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.
More on Boehner's campaign finance
- Principal Campaign Committee: Friends of John Boehner:
Coal contributions
In late October 2010, during the lead up to the Congressional midterm elections, The New York Times reported that the political action committee of Representative John Boehner of Ohio, who is in line to become speaker if Republicans capture the House, has received more than $300,000 from mining interests, most of it from coal companies. The industry is counting on Mr. Boehner to reverse the current Democratic leadership's refusal to allow a vote on the measure blocking E.P.A. carbon regulation.[11]
In September 2011, the Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. coal companies "have pumped $1.5 million into House Speaker John Boehner's political operation this year, a sign of the industry's beefed-up efforts to fight new and proposed regulations from the Obama administration." Donations from coal-industry interests account for more than 10% of the $12.5 million Boehner collected from Jan. 1 to June 30, 2011. One top donor to Boehner was William I. Koch, brother of the Koch Brothers and president of Oxbow Corporation, which owns the Elk Creek Mine in western Colorado. Koch and his wife contributed a total of $70,000 to Boehner.[12]
Committees and affiliations
Committees
Committee assignments are not yet available for the 110th Congress.
Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)
- Before taking the Majority Leader post, Boehner was entering his final term as the Chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
More background data
Wikipedia also has an article on John Boehner. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the GFDL.
Contact
About ALEC
ALEC is a corporate bill mill. It is not just a lobby or a front group; it is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, corporations hand state legislators their wishlists to benefit their bottom line. Corporations fund almost all of ALEC's operations. They pay for a seat on ALEC task forces where corporate lobbyists and special interest reps vote with elected officials to approve “model” bills. Learn more at the Center for Media and Democracy's ALECexposed.org, and check out breaking news on our PRWatch.org site.
Healthcare reform
Following the end of an almost four hour debate on H.R.4872, Boehner took the floor and proclaimed, acknowledging likely passage, that he had a "sad and heavy heart." He said "no one in this body" believes the bill is satisfactory and argued "we have failed to listen to America, and we have failed to reflect the will of our constituents." "Shame on each and every one of you who substitutes your will and your desires above those of your fellow countrymen," said Boehner. He grew agitated when asking rhetorical questions about the impact of the bill, asking members if they could really promise their constituents that it would not have a variety of consequences: "Do you really believe that if you like the health plan that have that you can keep it? No you can't," he said [1]. For a transcript and video of the full speech, please see this link on Boehner's website.
Similarly, on March 20, 2010 (the day before passage of the bill), Boehner used similar scare tactics and called the next 24 hours "armageddon" because the healthcare bill proposed by Democrats will "ruin our country." [2]
In an appearance on Meet the Press on March 21, 2010, Boehner stated that stoppage of the healthcare reform bill was necessary because it would "ruin our economy, ruin our healthcare system, the best healthcare system in the world." Boehner went on: "We've got the best healthcare system in the world, and we're about to take this dangerous step, very dangerous step toward the government running the whole thing. That's not what the American people want." Please see this link for a full transcript of the episode, including House Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer's responses.
Record and controversies
Iraq War
For more information see the chart of U.S. House of Representatives votes on the Iraq War.
Boehner voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 that started the Iraq War.[3]
Statements and action on the Iraq war
Statements made by John Boehner:
January 23, 2007: "I think it'll be rather clear in the next sixty to ninety days as to whether this plan's going to work." [4]
2007 Iraq spending bill
After the first Iraq supplemental spending bill, which included a timetable for troop withdrawal, passed the House in March 2007 in a 218-212 vote, Boehner, an opponent of the bill, stated "We have our moment of truth...We have our opportunity to do what our forefathers have done, and that's to stand up, support our troops and to win, because the outcome of failure is actually too ominous to even think about." The Minority Leader then sent a letter to President Bush signed by 154 House members indicating that they would sustain his veto of the Iraq supplemental spending bill. The letter cited arbitrary restrictions on the military leaders and excess pork-barrel projects.
Main article: U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health, and Iraq Accountability Act, 2007 (H.R.1591)
Iraq benchmarks
On March 27, 2007, clips of Boehner, contradicting himself regarding Iraqi benchmarks, appeared on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. These clips portrayed Boehner's opposition to the benchmarks included in the Iraq spending bill that passed the House by a vote of 218-212 on March 23, 2007. The video also revealed Boehner, two weeks earlier, calling Iraqi benchmarks "good." [3] [4]
Main article: Congressional actions on the Iraq War
Benchmarks "ensure failure"
Boehner's disapproval of the benchmarks was exemplified during the clip which captured his use of the term "failure" to describe them. These milestones, as put forth in the bill, established standards for "resting, training and equipping combat troops before their deployment; additionally, the House bill contained binding benchmarks for the Iraqi government, such as assuming control of security operations, quelling sectarian violence and more equitably distributing oil revenue." [5]
Boehner's response to the House on the passage of the bill included, "We have our moment of truth... We have our opportunity to do what our forefathers have done, and that's to stand up, support our troops and to win, because the outcome of failure is actually too ominous to even think about." [6]
Benchmarks are "very good"
The Daily Show clip capturing Boehner's expression that benchmarks are "good" just two weeks prior to his stance that benchmarks would "ensure failure" could perhaps be traced back to January 23, 2007, when Boehner said on CNN that he supported benchmarks for Iraqis and a timeline of “60 to 90 days” for the escalation to work. Likewise, Boehner clarified further on Meet the Press, in his response to President Bush's "Iraq plan" that, "We want to offer a resolution that makes it clear that we ought to have a bipartisan panel overseeing this plan, and we outline a series of benchmarks to see how well we’re doing... This plan is heavily dependent on the Iraqis stepping up and taking more responsibility for their own country... And I think that having these benchmarks and being able to follow the progress is very important." [7] [8] (Watch Boehner)
Boehner v. McDermott
On Monday, June 26, 2006, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Colubmia stated that they will hear McDermott’s appeal of a case about an illegally recorded taped telephone conversation told to reporters by Rep Jim McDermott.
In March, the appeals court ruled that McDermott violated federal law by releasing a taped conversation taking place in 1996 of former House Speaker, Newt Gingrich, R-Ga. According to the Boston Globe, “The 2-1 opinion upheld a lower court ruling that McDermott violated the rights of Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, who was heard on the 1996 call.”[9]
Boehner hands out 'tobacco checks' on floor of House
In late June of 1995 then-GOP Conference Chairman John Boehner handed out "about a half-dozen" checks from the political action committee of tobacco company Brown & Williamson Corp. to fellow Republicans on the floor of the House.
Boehner's chief of staff Barry Jackson stated, "We were trying to help guys who needed to get their June 30th numbers up, their cash-on-hand numbers up. All leadership does this. We have to raise money for people and help them raise money."
Boehner was forced to stop handed out the checks when two freshmen Republicans, "appalled by it," confronted him and voiced their displeasure. Boehner's reaction was one of tempered apology, "I thought, 'Yeah, I can imagine why somebody would be upset. It sure doesn't look good.' It's not an excuse, but the floor is the only place you get to see your colleagues. It was a matter of convenience. You make a mistake, admit it and go on. I just feel bad about it." (Associated Press, 5/10/96)
Sallie Mae and For-Profit Schools
The single largest contributor to Boehner's leadership PAC since 1989 is Sallie Mae, the student lending giant, with contributions totaling $122,000.[10]
Boehner, until his recent ascension to the Majority Leader post, was the chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. In this position Boehner was able to oversee and push issues favorable to the student loan industry, including Sallie Mae. Boehner recently championed a bill that would "soften [proposed] cuts to lenders" and "deal a serious blow to the competing direct-loan program."[11] The direct-loan program provides loans directly to students through their school, rather than through private lenders and banks. The bill also sought to prevent students from consolidating their loans.
According to The New Republic, "Several GAO and CBO studies have found that the direct-lending program costs taxpayers much less than extending loans through lenders like Sallie Mae. Government watchdogs have estimated that every dollar loaned through these middlemen costs the federal government at least 9 cents."[12]
Prior to pushing the bill, which was eventually passed and signed by President Bush, Boehner delivered this comforting message to the Consumer Bankers Association, "Know that I have all of you in my two trusted hands. I've got enough rabbits up my sleeve to be able to get where we need to."[13]
Boehner has "[o]n several occassions ... been a guest of Albert L. Lord, Sallie Mae's chief executive officer, on the corporate jet, primarily for golf outings in Florida. The company also helped sponsor a party that Mr. Boehner threw in New York at the 2004 Republican National Convention."[14]
Boehner's leadership PAC has also received a large amount of money from for-profit schools, who have gained from Boehner's chairmanship of the Education and Workforce Committee. From 2003-2004 Boehner's PAC received $102,000 from for-profit schools.[15]
During the current legislative session Boehner, with the aid of Rep. Buck McKeon, was successful in pushing for the elimination of the 50 percent rule, which stipulated that for a college to receive federal student aid it must teach half of its classes on campus rather than online.[16] The Washington Post reports that opponents of the rule change include "the United States Student Association, American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, the National Association for College Admission Counseling and the American Federation of Teachers."
The for-profit school industry has suffered a number of scandals recently. The largest for-profit, the University of Phoenix, "was fined $9.8 million by federal regulators who concluded it was so focused on boosting enrollment that it pressured recruiters to accept unqualified students."[17]
Abramoff connection
Since 2000, Boehner's political action committee, the Freedom Project, has raised approximately $32,000 from four of Jack Abramoff's tribal clients.
Boehner, Chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, "received $32,500 in political contributions from Indian tribes represented by fallen lobbyist Jack Abramoff, placing him in the top tier of lawmakers who got donations from the lobbyist or his clients," Michael Collins reported in the January 5, 2006, Cincinnati Post.
"In all, 17 current and former members of Congress from Ohio and Kentucky received campaign donations from either Abramoff or one of the tribes he represents," Collins wrote, with Boehner leading "the pack, taking in even more money than Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, who has become one of the central figures in the political corruption investigation that brought Abramoff down. Ney received $31,500 in donations from Abramoff and his clients - $1,000 less than Boehner, the report said."
"Boehner, for example, did not get any political contributions directly from Abramoff, but his political-action committee did get money from four tribes represented by the lobbyist, the report said.
"The Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana gave $15,000 to Boehner's leadership PAC, the Freedom Project. The other contributions came from the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, which gave $9,500; the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, which donated $7,000; and the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, which gave $1,000. Boehner chairs the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and is said to be considering a run for House majority leader," Collins wrote.
Rents basement apartment from lobbyist
On February 8, 2006 the Washington Post reported that John Boehner rents a Capitol Hill basement apartment from a lobbyist whose clients lobby on issues that came before Boehner when he chaired the Education and Workforce Committee.
According to the Post, John Milne, the owner of the rented property, was hired by Fortis Health Plans to lobby on the Economic Security and Worker Assistance Act, which was co-authored by Boehner. Milne has also been hired to lobby on minimum wage increases and tax credits for tips, both issues overseen by the Education and Workforce Committee. Milne denies ever lobbying Boehner directly.
Tom Edsall, the Post author, writes: "The relationship between Boehner, John D. Milne and Milne's wife, Debra R. Anderson, underscores how intertwined senior lawmakers have become with the lobbyists paid to influence legislation."[18]
Actions as majority leader
On July 15, the New York Times reported that Boehner had raised campaign contributions at a rate of $10,000 per day since becoming House Majority Leader in February 2006. [19] Boehner's Freedom Project collected $759,238 from February through June 2006, Federal Election Commission figures show. In comparison, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's Americans for a Republican Majority raised $688,511 during those same months in 2004. [20]
His biggest donors were the political action committees of lobbying firms, drug and cigarette makers, banks, health insurers, oil companies, military contractors, and Native American tribes. Despite high scrutiny on congressional trip-taking, Boehner flew to a golf resort in Boca Raton, Florida in March 2006 for a convention of commodities traders, who have contributed more than $100,000 to his campaigns and are currently lobbying against a proposed tax on futures transactions.
In addition, Boehner’s campaign committees hired two people in 2006 from the financial and insurance industry’s lobbying wing. One of the hires, Amy Hobart, worked for Boehner before becoming political affairs manager at the Bond Market Association. The group has contributed $50,000 to Boehner and once lobbied for his legislation aimed at loosening investment restrictions on pension fund managers. [21]
Rep. Mark Foley congressional page scandal
On September 29, Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) announced his resignation from the House following the public revelation of "over-friendly" emails and sexually suggestive instant messages he had sent teenage congressional pages. Following the announcement, Boehner contradicted himself several times regarding his previous knowledge of the emails, as well as if and when he contacted House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) regarding the matter.
Read a full account of the Mark Foley page scandal
Civil suit
In 1998, Boehner filed suit against Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wa.) for disclosing to the press an "illegally intercepted" cell phone call involving Boehner and other Republican leaders.[5] In April 2008, a federal judge ordered McDermott to pay nearly $1.2 million in penalties and legal fees to Boehner, settling the decade-long legal dispute between the two gentlemen.[6]
Flight compensation
In March 2007, a liaison from Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) met with Minority Leader Boehner's office in order to amend the House rules regarding compensation for Congressional air travel. The rules were changed in January, requiring Congressmen to pay non-commercial aircraft owners the full price of a ticket, which the FAA rules prohibit. While this has prevented Members from using lobbyists aircraft, it also grounded several personal aircraft amongst Democratic and Republican Lawmakers. Pelosi was attempting to change the rules via voice-vote, (which required unanimous consent) but Boehner has refused to consider "piecemeal changes" and was holding out for other Rules changes regarding earmarks.
Eventually, on May 2 2007, the House voted by voice vote on H.R.363 to remove airplane travel restrictions. The measure was sponsored by Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and Rep. Samuel Graves (R-Mo.). The new rules allow members to fly in a friend's airplane for free. The rules change also provides that members who are certified pilots may again fly their own aircraft.
Main article: U.S. federal ethics, transparency, and campaign finance legislation, 110th Congress
Budget
In January 2007, when Congress passed a continuing resolution to keep the federal government operating for the remainder of the 2007 fiscal year, the bill effectively stripped earmarks which had been inserted into House spending bills in 2006 (which were not passed by the Senate). The funds which would have gone towards earmarks were instead allotted to federal agencies, who would then have the power to determine how the funds would be spent. In response, Minority Leader Boehner stated:
“I have consistently stated that Republicans are eager to work with Democrats for the good of the country we were all elected to serve, but that we will hold them accountable for their promises at the same time. Democrats promised this massive spending bill would be earmark-free, but then gave us a bill that includes hundreds of millions of dollars worth of funding for earmarked pork projects. And it is clear that the best interests of the American people – transparency and accountability – were not a priority for Democrats when they crafted this massive spending bill…Republicans offered a common sense proposal to slash hundreds of millions of dollars from earmarks the Democrats overlooked and use those funds to pay for critically-needed housing for military families, to restore funding for the fight against methamphetamine abuse, and to reduce the federal budget deficit. It’s unfortunate Democrats decided to break their pledge on earmarks at the expense of these higher priorities. The majority’s decision is out of step with the priorities of the American people.”
Main article: Continuing resolution of 2007
As Minority Leader, Boehner was heavily involved in the June 2007 debate over the FY2008 appropriations bills. House Republicans argued for greater transparency with earmarks in the bills. After having successfully stalled passage of the budget measures and attempting to come to an agreement, on June 14, Boehner and Republican negotiators claimed a victory at a press conference, but House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) called the GOP announcement premature and purely political. By that evening, however, a final deal had been forged by Majority Leader Hoyer, Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.), and Minority Leader Boehner. The agreement still allowed the Homeland Security and Military Construction bills, which typically include few earmarks, to move to conference committee without earmarks, where they would then be added. The remaining 10 appropriations bills, however, would list their earmarks up front, and any earmarks later added in conference would be allowed to come up on the House floor upon final consideration.
Main article: Congressional actions on the federal budget/110th Congress
Ethics reform
On February 1, 2007, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Minority Leader Boehner announced the creation of a "task force" to study implementation of an outside ethics body to oversee Congress. The task force, chaired by Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass.), issued it's report to the House in May 2007.
House delegate voting rights
On January 24, 2007, after Democrats took control of the House following the 2006 congressional elections, a rule change was again passed providing delegates and the resident commissioner with limited voting rights. The change allowed delegates and the resident commissioner (4 of 5 of whom were Democrats) to vote on the House floor in the "Committee of the Whole," whereby bills are debated and amendments are added. The rule, however, stipulated that if a delegate's vote was decisive, the committee would disband and a new vote would be taken without the non-voting members.[7]
House Minority Leader Boehner called it, “An outrageous grab of power by the majority,” while Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) argued it amounted to, “Representation without taxation.”[8]
Main article: Voting rights in the District of Columbia
August 2007 House voting controversy
When controversy erupted following a contested vote on the FY2008 agriculture appropriations bill on August 2, 2007, Boehner at first attempted to work with Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), both agreeing to initiate some sort of investigation into the affair. However, Boehner was persuaded by more conservative members of his party and the Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) to peruse confrontation with the Democrats through procedural tactics. Boehner was able to pass, with Democratic support, a resolution creating a select committee to investigate the August 2 contested vote, but was blocked, however, when he tried to bring a vote on a resolution to rebuke Rep. John Murtha (D-Penn.) for his actions regarding the issue while presiding over the House. Democrats successfully tabled that resolution, with Majority Leader Hoyer stating "enough is enough" in response to the GOP's actions. Boehner expressed outrage that such a statement did not initiate an hour of debate over the resolution, as House rules would have required. Democrats claimed that the presiding chair had not recognized the Majority Leader, and therefore his remarks were not a part of the official record.
Main article: August 2007 House voting controversy
Condemnation of MoveOn.org advertisement
Before the September 10 testimony of General David Petraeus, MoveOn.org bought a full-page newspaper ad with a caption “General Petraeus or General Betray Us?” The ad sought to portray Petraeus's testimony as motivated by politics rather than the truth.[9]
Boehner introduced a resolution to condemn the advertisement, saying “The despicable attack MoveOn.org launched against General Petraeus today should be condemned by all Members of Congress, including the Democratic leadership. I urge Members on both sides of the aisle to join in support of this resolution so the House speaks with one voice rejecting the character assassination tactics employed by this extremist group.”[10]
Bio
Early life
Boehner (pronounced bay-ner) was born November 17, 1949 in Cincinnati, Ohio, attended Moeller High School and received a bachelor of science degree from Xavier University (Cincinnati) in 1977 and worked as a businessman.
Boehner grew up as one of twelve children in Reading, a neighborhood in Cincinnati. He started working at his father Earl Boehner's cafe, inexplicably called Andy's Cafe, mopping and cleaning up. Boehner remembers, "This was the cleanest place you've ever seen. If the floor wasn't clean, you had to do it over again."
In 1969 Boehner graduated from high school and joined the Navy. He was given an honorable discharge after only six weeks when it was discovered that he had back problems. He then took on a number of odd jobs to pay his way to a degree in business administration at Xavier. He graduated from Xavier in 1977, a year after taking over a plastic packaging business, Nucite Sales Inc. (Cincinnati Post, March 12, 1995)
Political career
In 1981 Boehner served on the board of trustees of Union Township, Butler County, Ohio. In 1984, he served as president of the township board of trustees.
Boehner served as an Ohio state representative from 1985 to 1990. In 1990, when U.S. Rep. Donald "Buz" Lukens (R-Ohio) was caught in a sex scandal involving a minor, Boehner challenged Lukens in the Republican primary and defeated the incumbent, while also upsetting the district's former representative, Tom Kindness, who Boehner declared had abandoned his district to become a lobbyist. Boehner went on to victory in the 1990 general election and began serving in the U.S. House of Representatives the 102nd Congress.
Gang of Seven
He was a member of the Gang of Seven, a group of seven freshmen Republicans who assailed the Democratic leadership with accusations of corruption and arrogance over the misuse of the House Bank. According to a 1992 San Francisco Chronicle article the Gang "set the match to the bank scandal that has now engulfed the House, blackened its leadership and sparked a 'spontaneous political combustion' that many analysts say will fuel a record turnover in Congress." (San Francisco Chronicle, 3/30/02)
Boehner told the Cleveland Plain Dealer: "I came as a reformer. But when people in charge don't want to reform - the only way...is revolution." (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 2/15/93)
The banking scandal involved 355 members, Democrats and Republicans, writing 8,331 overdrafts to the bank. The Gang pounced on the issue and forced the Democrats into a corner and eventually led to the tidal wave Republican Revolution of 1994.
1990s leadership
Boehner came to Congress as one of the most pro-business, anti-government members in 1990. He advocated a flat tax and abolition of whole government agencies including the Department of Education and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Boehner quickly rose to the fourth highest position in the Republican leadership - Republican Conference Chairman - after chairing Newt Gingrich's 1994 run for the Minority Leader post.
Boehner was on of the principal architects of the Contract With America. He also championed the 1996 Freedom to Farm Act.
When Newt Gingrich resigned his post as Speaker in the wake of the GOPs loss of seats in the 1998 election Boehner's leadership post was challenged by J.C. Watts, the only black Republican congressman. Boehner lost to Watts 121-93.
Education and Workforce Chairman
In 2001 Boehner was named the Chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee where he would oversee numerous agencies that he planned on abolishing in the early 1990s. Boehner worked diligently to pass [[President Bush]]'s No Child Left Behind Act, reaching across the aisle as a conference committee chairman to work with Democrat George Miller (D).
Boehner has also been a strong supporter of school vouchers for private and religious schools and helped to push through the school voucher program for the District of Columbia.
Boehner has repeatedly tried to get a pension reform bill, favored by business leaders, passed by Congress. It has passed the House multiple times, but has consistently failed in the Senate.
Majority Leader
Boehner was elected House Majority Leader on February 2, 2006, following Tom DeLay's departure because of a criminal indictment.
There was brief controversy on the first ballot for Majority Leader. The first count showed more votes cast than Republicans present at the Conference meeting.[22] However, this turned out to be due to a misunderstanding on whether or not Congressman Luis Fortuño was allowed to vote on leadership. [23]
Boehner campaigned as a reform candidate who could help the House Republicans cleanse and recover from the political damage caused by charges of ethics violations, corruption and money laundering leveled against prominent conservatives such as DeLay and disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, in spite of his own ties to Abramoff.
He bested fellow candidates Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri and Rep. John Shadegg of Arizona, even though he was considered an underdog candidate to House Majority Whip Blunt. It was the most contested election among House Republicans since 1998. Boehner received 122 votes compared to 109 by Blunt in a run-off vote. Rep. Shadegg dropped out of the race after a loss in the first round of voting and his supporters backed Boehner.
Blunt kept his previous position as Majority Whip, the No. 3 leadership position in the House. Boehner has a strong pro-business reputation but the social conservatives in the GOP are questioning his commitment to their values. According to the Washington Post "From illegal immigration to sanctions on China to an overhaul of the pension system, Boehner, as chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, took ardently pro-business positions that were contrary to those of many in his party. Religious conservatives -- examining his voting record -- see him as a policymaker driven by small-government economic concerns, not theirs..... [He opposes] a tough illegal immigration bill that passed in December [2005] with overwhelming Republican support over Boehner's opposition. One provision in the bill would mandate that every business verify the legality of every employee through the federal terrorism watch list and a database of Social Security numbers. For the bill's authors, the measure is central to choking off illegal immigrants' employment opportunities. To business groups and Boehner, it is unworkable." Feb 12, 2006
Boehner has since backtracked on his reform platform, stalling on lobbying and ethics reform proposals put forward by Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier (R-CA). Boehner stated on "Fox New Sunday" that Congress may be overreacting to the current lobbying scandal and voiced his opposition to a proposed congressional travel ban and a ban of earmark projects. The Washington Post writes that Boehner's ascension to the Majority Leader post "make[s] it less likely that the more far-reaching proposals to restructure lobbying will become law."[24] Boehner called the travel ban proposal "childish" in another interview.
Boehner is one of the top recipients of private travel, ranking 7th out of 638 members and former members at American Radio Works Power Trips.[25] His trip totals cost $157,603.85.
2006 elections
The Democrats nominated Mort Meier to challenge Boehner in the 2006 congressional elections. Boehner defeated Meier, receiving 64% of the vote. [26] As a result of the Democrats winning the House in the elections, Boehner lost his post of majority leader. He was elected minority leader for the 110th Congress.
Money in politics
This section contains links to – and feeds from – money in politics databases. cid=N00003675&cycle=2006
Links to more campaign contribution information for John Boehner
from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org site.
Fundraising profile: 2006 election cycle Career totals
Top contributors by organization/corporation: 2006 election cycle Career totals
Top contributors by industry: 2006 election cycle Career totals
Revolving door profile for John Boehner from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.
2006 privately funded travel profile for John Boehner from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.
Personal finance profile for John Boehner from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.
More on Boehner's campaign finance
Principal Campaign Committee: Friends of John Boehner:
Contributions Made to the Committee.
Contributions Made by Individuals.
Coal contributions
In late October 2010, during the lead up to the Congressional midterm elections, The New York Times reported that the political action committee of Representative John Boehner of Ohio, who is in line to become speaker if Republicans capture the House, has received more than $300,000 from mining interests, most of it from coal companies. The industry is counting on Mr. Boehner to reverse the current Democratic leadership's refusal to allow a vote on the measure blocking E.P.A. carbon regulation.[11]
In September 2011, the Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. coal companies "have pumped $1.5 million into House Speaker John Boehner's political operation this year, a sign of the industry's beefed-up efforts to fight new and proposed regulations from the Obama administration." Donations from coal-industry interests account for more than 10% of the $12.5 million Boehner collected from Jan. 1 to June 30, 2011. One top donor to Boehner was William I. Koch, brother of the Koch Brothers and president of Oxbow Corporation, which owns the Elk Creek Mine in western Colorado. Koch and his wife contributed a total of $70,000 to Boehner.[12]
Committees and affiliations
Committees
Committee assignments are not yet available for the 110th Congress.
Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)
Before taking the Majority Leader post, Boehner was entering his final term as the Chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
More background data
Background information on John Boehner from Project Vote Smart
Interest group scorecard ratings for John Boehner from Project Vote Smart
Voting record for John Boehner from the Washington Post database
Information on John Boehner from Congress Merge
Wikipedia also has an article on John Boehner. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the GFDL.
Contact
DC Office:
1011 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-3508
Phone: 202-225-6205
Fax: 202-225-0704
Website Email
Website
District Office- Troy:
12 South Plum Street
Troy, OH 45373
Phone: 937-339-1524
TollFree: 800-582-1001(OH Only)
Fax: 937-339-1878
District Office- West Chester:
7969 Cincinnati-Dayton Road, Suite B
West Chester, OH 45069
Phone: 513-779-5400
Fax: 513-779-5315
John Boehner posts on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/speakerboehner
Latest posts: Not a valid URL: http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/7713202.rss|title=none| max=3| short See all the members of Congress who Twitter
Articles and resources
Articles
Stephen Burd, "Selling Out Higher Education Policy?", Chronicle for Higher Education, July 30, 2004.
Jonathan Kaplan, "Boehner Can Rely on K Street Cabinet", The Hill, October 6, 2005.
Laura Litvan and Jonathan D. Salant, "Blunt, Boehner Share Broad Network of Lobbying Ties", Bloomberg, January 10, 2006.
Liz Marlantes, "No Signs of Panic as GOP Mulls New House Leader. Two Insiders Vie for Tom DeLay's Old Job", ABC News, January 10, 2006: "The only two candidates currently in the race — acting Majority Leader Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio — are far from outsiders."
Susan Cornwell, "Rep. Boehner steps up US House Republican campaign", Reuters, January 10, 2006.
Jonathan Weisman, "Blunt, Boehner Remain as Field For Majority Leader Narrows", Washington Post, January 10, 2006.
Stephen Burd, "Boehner and Sallie Mae", Chronicle of Higher Education, January 13, 2006.
"Boehner's Special Interest Past", USA Today, January 14, 2006.
Thomas Edsall, "Controversial Industries Back Boehner", Washington Post, January 29, 2006.
"What Corruption? Despite scandals, the GOP old guard in the U.S. House opts for minimal reform", Houston Chronicle, February 2, 2006.
Liz Marlantes, "Nervous Republicans Looking for Fresh Face in House. New Leader, Ohio Rep. John Boehner, Campaigned for as a Reformer", ABC News, February 2, 2006.
Nancy Benac, "Boehner: Old hand in House battles is new face in second-ranking GOP post", Associated Press, February 3, 2006.
Adam Nagourney, "News Analysis: Looking ahead, Republicans repudiate past", New York Times, February 3, 2006.
Ken Rudin, "The Boehner Upset," NPR, February 3, 2006.
Janet Hook and Faye Fiore, "Boehner becomes new US House leader", Financial Times (UK), February 3, 2006.
"Editorial: Going beyond damage control", Chicago Tribune, February 3, 2006.
Judd Legum, "Boehner: I'd Consider Stepping Aside As Majority Leader For Tom DeLay," Think Progress, February 5, 2006.
EZ writer, "WaPo: Boehner's landlord: A lobbyist!!" Daily Kos, February 7, 2006.
Thomas Edsall and Jonathan Weisman, "Boehner Rents Capitol Hill Apartment from Lobbyist", Washington Post, February 8, 2006.
Kim Shark, "Boehner Targets Students", The New Republic, February 12, 2006.
Holly Bailey and Eleanor Clift, "Reform, Washington Style. How an eight-term congressman with extensive ties to K Street became the new face of the House Republican Party", Newsweek (MSNBC), February 13, 2006 (issue).
Jonathan D. Salant and Jay Newton-Small, "Boehner's Ties to UPS, Pension Reform", Bloomberg, February 20, 2006.
Judd Legum, "EXCLUSIVE: Majority Leader Boehner’s Confidential Strategy Memo For Thursday’s Iraq Debate," Think Progress, June 14, 2006.
Matthew Daly, "Court to hear arguments in taped call case," Boston Globe, June 26,2006.
Mike McIntire, "New House Majority Leader Keeps Old Ties to Lobbyists," New York Times, July 15, 2006.
Jonathan Weisman and Anushka Asthana, "GOP Lawmakers Edge Away From Optimism on Iraq," Washington Post, July 20, 2006.
Editorial: "The Golden Touch of Leadership,"New York Times, July 20, 2006.
Veena Trehan, "Boehner Fund-Raising Surges in Leadership Post, Outpacing DeLay," Bloomberg.com, July 24, 2006.
Frank James, "Foley didn't set off alarms, says Boehner spokesman," The Swamp Newsblog/Chicago Tribune, September 30, 2006. re Mark Foley
Josh Marshall, Talking Points Memo, October 2, 2006. re Republican leadership.
"Boehner Points Finger at the Speaker," Political Radar Blog/ABC News, October 3, 2006. re Dennis Hastert
John Aravosis, "Boehner and Hastert today blame the children who were the victims," AMERICAblog, October 5, 2006.
"Republican House leader blames troops for Iraq mess," AMERICAblog, November 1, 2006. YouTube video link and transcript.
"Did Boehner Make A Bungle?" The Hotline Blog/National Journal, November 1, 2006.
News Release: "Reid: Boehner Blames the Military," U.S. Newswire, November 1, 2006.
Dana Milbank, "For the GOP, Taking the War Out of the War Debate," Washington Post, February 14, 2007.
Jonathan Weisman, "House Passes Iraq Pullout Timetable," Washington Post, March 24, 2007.
Nico Pitney, "Boehner: All House Members ‘Except One Voted To Send Our Troops Into Iraq’," Think Progress, May 10, 2007.
Matt Corley, "Under Boehner, Corrupt Conservatives Play Musical Chairs With Committee Seats," Think Progress, May 17, 2007. re Republican 'culture of corruption'
Lyndsey Layton, "House GOP Uses Procedural Tactic To Frustrate Democratic Majority. Motion to Recommit Employed to Delay or Alter Legislation," Washington Post, May 19, 2007.
John Byrne, "House Republican leader leaked classified information, government officials say," The Raw Story, August 3, 2007.
"Boehner: Troop deaths in Iraq are 'a small price'," Think Progress, September 12, 2007.
"Small price," Think Progress, September 20, 2007. re ad by Americans United for Change
John Eggerton, "Boehner, Conservative Groups Weigh In on Localism: FCC Chairman Kevin Martin Hears from Rep. John Boehner, Americans for Tax Reform, Christian Coalition, Citizens United," Broadcasting & Cable, June 13, 2008.
Resources
Official website
The Freedom Project
Office of the House Majority Leader
John Boehner: For a Majority that Matters Majority Leader Campaign Manifesto
Technorati Search: John Boehner
Google News Search: John Boehner
Yahoo! News Search: John Boehner
Power Trips: How much does John Boehner travel?
GovTrack Statistics: John Boehner
Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database
Compare where John Boehner stands on the issues - whereIstand.com
Cut and Fund, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, March 27, 2007.
Steny Hoyer, John Boehner, David Broder, Gwen Ifill, Howard Kurtz, Roger Simon, Meet the Press with Tim Russert, February 11, 2007.
Boehner’s 60 Days On Iraq Are Up, Think Progress, March 22, 2007.
Local blogs and discussion sites
Psychobilly Democrat
As Ohio Goes
Writes Like She Talks
SourceWatch resources
Abramoff-Reed Indian Gambling Scandal
Corresponding article on Wikipedia and Cause Caller. (If Cause Caller link does not work, pick from its list of senators and representatives.)
Meanwhile, Republicans who do believe in global warming get shunted aside. ...Gannett News Service recently reported that Rep. Wayne Gilchrest asked to be on the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio refused to allow it unless Gilchrest would say that humans have not contributed to global warming. The Maryland Republican refused and was denied a seat.
...The Chamber, Boehner and McConnell: A Love Story
Speaker-elect Boehner’s relationship with the U.S. Chamber is well-documented. In a New York Times profile of him, Boehner’s comeback to power is explained: “It is his reputation as a ‘Chamber of Commerce’ Republican and his fund-raising skills — he has raised $36 million for Republican causes during this election cycle, more than almost anyone else in his party — that explain, in part, his rise.”5
One of Boehner’s top individual donors was a U.S. Chamber lobbyist,6 and this year, Boehner invited the Chamber’s top lobbyist to attend a controversial closed-door meeting about the America Speaking Out project.7 On issue after issue that pits the U.S. Chamber against the mainstream business community and the general public, Boehner adopts the Chamber’s talking points. Most egregiously, after U.S. Chamber President Tom Donohue made headlines saying that American taxpayers should help pay for the BP oil spill cleanup, Boehner agreed: “I think the people responsible in the oil spill--BP and the federal government--should take full responsibility for what's happening there,” he said.
Proposed Bill Gives Coal Companies Unlimited Power
by Roberta Seldon on April 24, 2012
U.S. coal companies may end up with unlimited power if a bill Congress is currently considering becomes law – and that could lead to further destruction of the environment while posing a serious risk to the health of the general public.
The Coal Miner Employment and Domestic Energy Infrastructure Protection Act, also known as H.R.3409, has been touted by Republicans as a job-saving plan. H.R.3409 “prevents the Obama Administration’s unnecessary and rushed rewrite of a coal mining regulation that took over five years of environmental analysis and careful scientific consideration to complete,” a press release appearing on the Natural Resources Committee’s website says.
“We are now one step closer to stopping President Obama’s war on the coal industry and the jobs that go with it. There is no question that coal is vital to providing reliable, low cost electricity to America. This important legislation would block President Obama’s proposed rewrite of the Stream Buffer Zone rule that would cost over 100,000 direct and indirect coal jobs and cause energy prices to skyrocket,” Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) who sponsored the proposed bill, said, according to the press release.
“Right now, Americans are experiencing firsthand President Obama’s destructive energy policies that are continuing to make our economy worse. Since the President took office, gas prices at the pump have doubled, unemployment has increased, and Americans are paying, on average, $300 more per year for electricity. Hard-working Americans cannot afford this administration’s failed energy policies anymore.”
According to the text of the proposed legislation, H.R.3409 would also prohibit the Secretary of the Interior – before December 31, 2013 – from issuing or approving any proposed or final regulation under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 that would:
adversely impact employment in coal mines in the United States;
cause a reduction in revenue received by the Federal Government or any State, tribal, or local government, by reducing through regulation the amount of coal in the United States that is available for mining;
reduce the amount of coal available for domestic consumption or for export;
designate any area as unsuitable for surface coal mining and reclamation operations; or
expose the United States to liability for taking the value of privately owned coal through regulation
The legislation was co-sponsored by 18 members of Congress:
Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett (R-Md.)
Rep. Rick Berg (R-N.D.)
Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.)
Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.)
Rep. Bill Flores (R-Texas)
Rep. Paul A. Gosar (R-Ariz.)
Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.)
Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.)
Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.)
Rep. Steven C. LaTourette (R-Ohio)
Rep. David B. McKinley (R-W.Va.)
Rep. David P. Roe (R-Tenn.)
Rep. Harold Rogers (R-Ky.)
Rep. Todd Rokita (R-Ind.)
Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.)
Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio)
Rep. Patrick J. Tiberi (R-Ohio)
Rep. Don Young (R-Ala.)
http://securityandsustainabilityforum.org/proposed-bill-gives-coal-companies-unlimited-power-2620
The political action committee of Representative John Boehner of Ohio, who is in line to become speaker if Republicans capture the House, has received more than $300,000 from mining interests, most of it from coal companies. The industry is counting on Mr. Boehner to reverse the current Democratic leadership's refusal to allow a vote on the measure blocking E.P.A. carbon regulation.[5]
limus test for comm: Gannett News Service recently reported that Rep. Wayne Gilchrest asked to be on the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio refused to allow it unless Gilchrest would say that humans have not contributed to global warming. The Maryland Republican refused and was denied a seat.
wsj:
BY BRODY MULLINS
U.S. coal companies have pumped $1.5 million into House Speaker John Boehner's political operation this year, a sign of the industry's beefed-up efforts to fight new and proposed regulations from the Obama administration.
The coal industry now ranks as one of the top sources of cash for the Ohio Republican, rivaling such perennial GOP donors as Wall Street and the real-estate industry. A large part of the coal industry's donations came in a single week at the end of June.
Donations from coal-industry interests account for more than 10% of the $12.5 million Mr. Boehner collected from Jan. 1 to ...
mojo:
The coal industry adores House Speaker John Boehner, now more than ever. From Tuesday's Wall Street Journal:
Donations from coal-industry interests account for more than 10% of the $12.5 million Mr. Boehner collected from Jan. 1 to June 30 for fundraising accounts he directly controls. Mr. Boehner's personal campaign account collected less than $200,000 from the coal industry during the entire 2009-10 election cycle.
That means the coal industry's now giving Boehner 24 times more the monthly contributions it gave him during 2009-10. Among Boehner's top current donors is one of the Koch brothers, William, who heads Oxbow Corporation—an energy conglomerate with coal, natural gas, steel, and petroleum operations worth $4 billion in annual sales. In general, the Journal reports, the coal industry has ramped up its political giving since Obama was elected president, more than doubling its 2008 contributions in the latest election cycle, with about 75 percent of donations going to Republicans.
A Boehner spokesman assured the Journal that coal-industry giving constitutes a small fraction of the $30 million or so the speaker has raised for the Republican Party this year. But even if Boehner doesn't find the coal industry's givings significant, the spike in coal-backed donations to the House leader hasn't gone unthanked, either, as the Journal points out, and as we've reported here before. Notably, since November 2010 the House has voted to prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse-gas emissions from coal-fired power plants and approved a bill that would strip the EPA's authority to veto water permits issued by the Army Corps of Engineers.
All in all, under the current GOP-led House there've been some 125 votes to undermine environmental protection, from cutting funding for the EPA, the Department of Energy, and the Department of the Interior, limiting agencies' authority to enforce the Clean Water Act and blocking the US from contributing to the international governing body on climate change. The legislative attack on environmental protection prompted a backlash from Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, who on Monday called the House "the most anti-environment" in history upon releasing a search-and-sortable database of the 125 votes. (MoJo reporter Kate Sheppard has more on this.)
The swell in coal contributions to Boehner secures his place as the industry's number-two favorite recipient, according data from the Center for Responsive Politics. Oxbow spokesman Brad Goldstein wrapped up the industry's sentiment for the speaker unabashedly:
We are a big supporter of John Boehner. We think he's good for business…He looks out for business interests, and he wants to create more jobs for America, while this administration has been rather harsh on the industry.
wiki;
NCLB
Contract With America
Boehner, along with Newt Gingrich and several other Republican lawmakers, was one of the engineers of the Contract with America in 1994 that helped catapult Republicans into the majority in Congress for the first time in four decades.
[edit] Legislative accomplishments
From 1995 to 1999, Boehner served as House Republican Conference Chairman. There he championed the Freedom to Farm Act.
Following the election of President George W. Bush, Boehner was elected as chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee from 2001 until 2006. There he authored several reforms including the Pension Protection Act and a successful school choice program for low-income children in Washington, DC.[3] He was also a major force in the passage of No Child Left Behind, saying it was his “proudest achievement” in two decades of public service.[4]
[edit] Congressional leadership
Boehner was elected by his colleagues to serve as House Majority Leader on February 2, 2006. The election followed Tom DeLay's resignation from the post after being indicted on criminal charges.
Boehner campaigned as a reform candidate who wanted to reform the so-called "earmark" process and rein in government spending. He defeated Majority Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri and Representative John Shadegg of Arizona, even though he was considered an underdog candidate to Blunt. In the second round of voting by the House Republican Conference, Boehner received 122 votes compared to 109 for Blunt. Blunt kept his previous position as Majority Whip, the No. 3 leadership position in the House. (There was some confusion on the first ballot for Majority Leader as the first count showed one more vote cast than Republicans present,[5] due to a misunderstanding as to whether the rules allowed Resident Commissioner Luis Fortuño of Puerto Rico to vote or not.[6])
After the Republicans lost control of the House in the 2006 elections, the House Republican Conference elected Boehner Minority Leader. Elected on January 4, 2007, he is the highest-ranking Republican in the House. According to the 2008 Congress.org Power Ranking, Boehner is the 6th most powerful congressman (preceded by Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Hoyer, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sander M. Levin, Dean of the House John Dingell, and Appropriations Committee Chairman Dave Obey, all Democrats) and the most powerful Republican.[7] As Minority Leader, Boehner serves as an ex officio member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
[edit] Congressional record
A profile in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review said, "On both sides of the aisle, Boehner earns praise for candor and an ability to listen."[8] And the
Meanwhile, Republicans who do believe in global warming get shunted aside. ...Gannett News Service recently reported that Rep. Wayne Gilchrest asked to be on the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio refused to allow it unless Gilchrest would say that humans have not contributed to global warming. The Maryland Republican refused and was denied a seat.
...The Chamber, Boehner and McConnell: A Love Story
Speaker-elect Boehner’s relationship with the U.S. Chamber is well-documented. In a New York Times profile of him, Boehner’s comeback to power is explained: “It is his reputation as a ‘Chamber of Commerce’ Republican and his fund-raising skills — he has raised $36 million for Republican causes during this election cycle, more than almost anyone else in his party — that explain, in part, his rise.”5
One of Boehner’s top individual donors was a U.S. Chamber lobbyist,6 and this year, Boehner invited the Chamber’s top lobbyist to attend a controversial closed-door meeting about the America Speaking Out project.7 On issue after issue that pits the U.S. Chamber against the mainstream business community and the general public, Boehner adopts the Chamber’s talking points. Most egregiously, after U.S. Chamber President Tom Donohue made headlines saying that American taxpayers should help pay for the BP oil spill cleanup, Boehner agreed: “I think the people responsible in the oil spill--BP and the federal government--should take full responsibility for what's happening there,” he said.
Proposed Bill Gives Coal Companies Unlimited Power
by Roberta Seldon on April 24, 2012
U.S. coal companies may end up with unlimited power if a bill Congress is currently considering becomes law – and that could lead to further destruction of the environment while posing a serious risk to the health of the general public.
The Coal Miner Employment and Domestic Energy Infrastructure Protection Act, also known as H.R.3409, has been touted by Republicans as a job-saving plan. H.R.3409 “prevents the Obama Administration’s unnecessary and rushed rewrite of a coal mining regulation that took over five years of environmental analysis and careful scientific consideration to complete,” a press release appearing on the Natural Resources Committee’s website says.
“We are now one step closer to stopping President Obama’s war on the coal industry and the jobs that go with it. There is no question that coal is vital to providing reliable, low cost electricity to America. This important legislation would block President Obama’s proposed rewrite of the Stream Buffer Zone rule that would cost over 100,000 direct and indirect coal jobs and cause energy prices to skyrocket,” Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) who sponsored the proposed bill, said, according to the press release.
“Right now, Americans are experiencing firsthand President Obama’s destructive energy policies that are continuing to make our economy worse. Since the President took office, gas prices at the pump have doubled, unemployment has increased, and Americans are paying, on average, $300 more per year for electricity. Hard-working Americans cannot afford this administration’s failed energy policies anymore.”
According to the text of the proposed legislation, H.R.3409 would also prohibit the Secretary of the Interior – before December 31, 2013 – from issuing or approving any proposed or final regulation under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 that would:
adversely impact employment in coal mines in the United States;
cause a reduction in revenue received by the Federal Government or any State, tribal, or local government, by reducing through regulation the amount of coal in the United States that is available for mining;
reduce the amount of coal available for domestic consumption or for export;
designate any area as unsuitable for surface coal mining and reclamation operations; or
expose the United States to liability for taking the value of privately owned coal through regulation
The legislation was co-sponsored by 18 members of Congress:
Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett (R-Md.)
Rep. Rick Berg (R-N.D.)
Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.)
Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.)
Rep. Bill Flores (R-Texas)
Rep. Paul A. Gosar (R-Ariz.)
Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.)
Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.)
Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.)
Rep. Steven C. LaTourette (R-Ohio)
Rep. David B. McKinley (R-W.Va.)
Rep. David P. Roe (R-Tenn.)
Rep. Harold Rogers (R-Ky.)
Rep. Todd Rokita (R-Ind.)
Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.)
Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio)
Rep. Patrick J. Tiberi (R-Ohio)
Rep. Don Young (R-Ala.)
http://securityandsustainabilityforum.org/proposed-bill-gives-coal-companies-unlimited-power-2620
The political action committee of Representative John Boehner of Ohio, who is in line to become speaker if Republicans capture the House, has received more than $300,000 from mining interests, most of it from coal companies. The industry is counting on Mr. Boehner to reverse the current Democratic leadership's refusal to allow a vote on the measure blocking E.P.A. carbon regulation.[5]
limus test for comm: Gannett News Service recently reported that Rep. Wayne Gilchrest asked to be on the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio refused to allow it unless Gilchrest would say that humans have not contributed to global warming. The Maryland Republican refused and was denied a seat.
wsj:
BY BRODY MULLINS
U.S. coal companies have pumped $1.5 million into House Speaker John Boehner's political operation this year, a sign of the industry's beefed-up efforts to fight new and proposed regulations from the Obama administration.
The coal industry now ranks as one of the top sources of cash for the Ohio Republican, rivaling such perennial GOP donors as Wall Street and the real-estate industry. A large part of the coal industry's donations came in a single week at the end of June.
Donations from coal-industry interests account for more than 10% of the $12.5 million Mr. Boehner collected from Jan. 1 to ...
mojo:
The coal industry adores House Speaker John Boehner, now more than ever. From Tuesday's Wall Street Journal:
Donations from coal-industry interests account for more than 10% of the $12.5 million Mr. Boehner collected from Jan. 1 to June 30 for fundraising accounts he directly controls. Mr. Boehner's personal campaign account collected less than $200,000 from the coal industry during the entire 2009-10 election cycle.
That means the coal industry's now giving Boehner 24 times more the monthly contributions it gave him during 2009-10. Among Boehner's top current donors is one of the Koch brothers, William, who heads Oxbow Corporation—an energy conglomerate with coal, natural gas, steel, and petroleum operations worth $4 billion in annual sales. In general, the Journal reports, the coal industry has ramped up its political giving since Obama was elected president, more than doubling its 2008 contributions in the latest election cycle, with about 75 percent of donations going to Republicans.
A Boehner spokesman assured the Journal that coal-industry giving constitutes a small fraction of the $30 million or so the speaker has raised for the Republican Party this year. But even if Boehner doesn't find the coal industry's givings significant, the spike in coal-backed donations to the House leader hasn't gone unthanked, either, as the Journal points out, and as we've reported here before. Notably, since November 2010 the House has voted to prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse-gas emissions from coal-fired power plants and approved a bill that would strip the EPA's authority to veto water permits issued by the Army Corps of Engineers.
All in all, under the current GOP-led House there've been some 125 votes to undermine environmental protection, from cutting funding for the EPA, the Department of Energy, and the Department of the Interior, limiting agencies' authority to enforce the Clean Water Act and blocking the US from contributing to the international governing body on climate change. The legislative attack on environmental protection prompted a backlash from Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, who on Monday called the House "the most anti-environment" in history upon releasing a search-and-sortable database of the 125 votes. (MoJo reporter Kate Sheppard has more on this.)
The swell in coal contributions to Boehner secures his place as the industry's number-two favorite recipient, according data from the Center for Responsive Politics. Oxbow spokesman Brad Goldstein wrapped up the industry's sentiment for the speaker unabashedly:
We are a big supporter of John Boehner. We think he's good for business…He looks out for business interests, and he wants to create more jobs for America, while this administration has been rather harsh on the industry.
wiki;
NCLB
Contract With America
Boehner, along with Newt Gingrich and several other Republican lawmakers, was one of the engineers of the Contract with America in 1994 that helped catapult Republicans into the majority in Congress for the first time in four decades.
[edit] Legislative accomplishments
From 1995 to 1999, Boehner served as House Republican Conference Chairman. There he championed the Freedom to Farm Act.
Following the election of President George W. Bush, Boehner was elected as chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee from 2001 until 2006. There he authored several reforms including the Pension Protection Act and a successful school choice program for low-income children in Washington, DC.[3] He was also a major force in the passage of No Child Left Behind, saying it was his “proudest achievement” in two decades of public service.[4]
[edit] Congressional leadership
Boehner was elected by his colleagues to serve as House Majority Leader on February 2, 2006. The election followed Tom DeLay's resignation from the post after being indicted on criminal charges.
Boehner campaigned as a reform candidate who wanted to reform the so-called "earmark" process and rein in government spending. He defeated Majority Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri and Representative John Shadegg of Arizona, even though he was considered an underdog candidate to Blunt. In the second round of voting by the House Republican Conference, Boehner received 122 votes compared to 109 for Blunt. Blunt kept his previous position as Majority Whip, the No. 3 leadership position in the House. (There was some confusion on the first ballot for Majority Leader as the first count showed one more vote cast than Republicans present,[5] due to a misunderstanding as to whether the rules allowed Resident Commissioner Luis Fortuño of Puerto Rico to vote or not.[6])
After the Republicans lost control of the House in the 2006 elections, the House Republican Conference elected Boehner Minority Leader. Elected on January 4, 2007, he is the highest-ranking Republican in the House. According to the 2008 Congress.org Power Ranking, Boehner is the 6th most powerful congressman (preceded by Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Hoyer, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sander M. Levin, Dean of the House John Dingell, and Appropriations Committee Chairman Dave Obey, all Democrats) and the most powerful Republican.[7] As Minority Leader, Boehner serves as an ex officio member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
[edit] Congressional record
A profile in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review said, "On both sides of the aisle, Boehner earns praise for candor and an ability to listen."[8] And the Cleveland Plain Dealer says Boehner "has perfected the art of disagreeing without being disagreeable."[9]
John Boehner has been classified as a "hard-core conservative" by OnTheIssues.[10] Although Boehner has a strong reputation and conservative voting record, when he was running for House leadership, religious conservatives in the GOP expressed that they were not satisfied with his positions. According to the Washington Post: "From illegal immigration to sanctions on China to an overhaul of the pension system, Boehner, as chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, took ardently pro-business positions that were contrary to those of many in his party. Religious conservatives — examining his voting record — see him as a policymaker driven by small-government economic concerns, not theirs.[11]
On May 25, 2006, Boehner issued a statement defending his agenda and attacking his "Democrat friends" such as Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. Boehner said regarding national security that voters "have a choice between a Republican Party that understands the stakes and is dedicated to victory, and a Democrat Party with a non-existent national security policy that sheepishly dismisses the challenges of a post-9/11 world and is all too willing to concede defeat on the battlefield in Iraq."
On October 3, 2008 Rep. Boehner voted in favor of the Troubled Asset Relief Program[12] believing that the enumerated powers grant congress the authority to "purchase assets and equity from financial institutions in order to strengthen its financial sector."
Boehner has been highly critical of several recent initiatives by the Democratic Congress and President Obama, including the "cap and trade" plan that Boehner says would hurt job growth in his congressional district and elsewhere. He also led an opposition to the trillion-dollar stimulus and to the President's budget proposal, promoting instead an alternative economic recovery plan[13] and a Republican budget (authored by Ranking Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc.).[14] He has advocated for an across-the-board spending freeze, including entitlements.
[edit] Political controversies
[edit] Connections to lobbyists
In June 1995, Boehner provoked contentions of unethical conduct when he distributed campaign contributions from tobacco industry lobbyists on the House floor as House members were weighing how to vote on tobacco subsidies.[15] Boehner eventually led the effort to change House rules and prohibit campaign contributions from being distributed on the House floor.[16]
[edit] Financial Crisis
On September 18, 2008, Congressman Boehner attended a closed meeting with congressional leaders, then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, and was urged to craft legislation to help financially troubled banks. That same day (trade effective the next day), Congressman Boehner cashed out of an equity mutual fund. He said his broker acted alone and did not consult with Boehner prior to making the trade.[17]
[edit] Re-election campaigns
In the November 2006 election, Boehner defeated the Democratic Party candidate, U.S. Air Force veteran Mort Meier, 64% to 36%.[18] In the November 2008 election, Boehner defeated Nicholas Von Stein, 68.7% to 31.4%. He is opposed by Justin Coussoule in the 2010 election.
[edit] See also
United States House of Representatives elections in Ohio, 2008
http://www.businessinsider.com/boehner-bp-2010-6
GOP Leader Boehner: Taxpayers Should Pay For This BP Oil Mess
Talking Points Memo | Jun. 10, 2010, 3:26 PM
John Boehner Republican
Image: AP
By Brian Beutler
Congressional Democrats and the White House are toying with different ways to force BP to cover the costs of damages from the Gulf oil spill. But they face stiff opposition from industry...and it seems leading Republicans. In response to a question from TPMDC, House Minority Leader John Boehner said he believes taxpayers should help pick up the tab for the clean up.
"I think the people responsible in the oil spill--BP and the federal government--should take full responsibility for what's happening there," Boehner said at his weekly press conference this morning.
Boehner's statement followed comments last Friday by US Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue who said he opposes efforts to stick BP, a member of the Chamber, with the bill. "It is generally not the practice of this country to change the laws after the game," he said. "Everybody is going to contribute to this clean up. We are all going to have to do it. We are going to have to get the money from the government and from the companies and we will figure out a way to do that."
So today I asked Boehner, "Do you agree with Tom Donohue of the Chamber that the government and taxpayers should pitch in to clean up the oil spill?" The shorter answer is yes.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/boehner-bp-2010-6#ixzz0vSnYucdS
later retracted?
Political Career
In 1990, Boehner took advantage of the Republican politician disaster-scandal trifecta that befell Ohio Congressman Buz Lukens who was caught engaging the services of a prostitute. An African-American one. A sixteen-year-old one. For 40 dollars. (Though nearly everyone has denounced Luken, many do admire his frugality.)
Helping to lift the people of Ohio and their respected Senate seat being involved with an underage sex scandal, Boehner entered the United States House of Representatives where he would later be involved with a an underage sex scandal.
15 years afterward, Boehner would learn about creepy emails Congressman Mark Foley sent to a young page, but not tell anybody about it until months later. Except then-Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, which he's "99% sure" he did. Overall, most people remember pretty clearly whether or not they helped cover up for a sleazy old man harassing children, but John Boehner is not most people.
In his first year, Boehner and six other congressmen formed the gang of seven. Among the major achievements of the gang of seven are the public exposure of politicians who'd overdrawn their bank accounts and cracking down on the free ride that congressmen were getting at that national travesty: the congressional barbershop. Not so much a "gang" as, say, a coterie, this "gang" was just like the Crips if instead of robbing and murdering people, they solely went around committing municipal code violations.
Boehner was one of the chief authors of the Contract with America, a document that many citizens remember existing though no one can actually recall the contents of it. This may be attributable to the Contract's ardent support for a series of initiatives that many Americans agreed with in principal but realistically, couldn't give a shit about.
In 2006, Beohner again displayed his aptitude for taking advantage of other people's criminal indictments when he succeeded Tom Delay as the House then-Majority leader.
Electrifying conservatives with his stern pro-business, anti-corruption, small government positions, Boehner would quickly disappoint most of his supporters by approving $9.8 trillion dollars in President Bush's budgets. While most lawmakers are unable to follow through on every promise they make, it is uncommon for a politician to do the complete inverse of every promise they made.
"Thankfully," following the 2008 Presidential election, Boehner returned to his original stance against major government spending once it became politically convenient. While it's difficult to argue that he has displayed consistency in his Republican "beliefs," there is one position he has been able to stringently adhere to: being opposed to whatever the overwhelming public opinion supports at the time.
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In addition to the money collected through Boehner for Speaker, Mr. Boehner took in $2.3 million in the third quarter through his own re-election committee, a nearly 50 percent increase from the previous filing period. Representative Nancy Pelosi, the current House speaker, raised just $304,000.
On Wednesday, Mr. Boehner’s leadership PAC, the Freedom Project, reported collecting nearly $300,000 in contributions in September, compared with less than $95,000 the month before.
Mr. Boehner, of Ohio, has been on an aggressive fund-raising push on behalf of Republican House members, barnstorming the country on a bus and calling upon the help of a close coterie of lobbyists and former aides, many of whom are now representing corporate interests. His office puts the total amount he has raised for Republican candidates and the party at $44 million. Mr. Boehner transferred more than $850,000 to the Republican Congressional campaign committee in the third quarter and $1.3 million to various candidates and state parties.
In terms of contributions to Boehner for Speaker, about $300,000, or more than a fifth of the total third-quarter haul, came from donors associated with the mining industry, with the vast majority of the cash linked to coal mining, in particular.
More than $42,000 of that came from individual donors tied to Murray Energy, which describes itself on its Web site as the largest privately owned coal company in the country, and its political action committee.
Nearly $200,000 came from the financial sector, including more than $76,000 from employees of CME Group, the parent company for the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade. The company’s chairman, Terry Duffy, contributed more than $32,000. Drew Maloney, a lobbyist who is close to Mr. Boehner, heads the lobbying firm Ogilvy Government Relations, which represents CME Group.
About $100,000 in donations to Boehner for Speaker came from donors associated with electric utilities, including about $55,000 from employees of FirstEnergy Corporation of Akron. The company’s chief executive, Anthony J. Alexander, wrote a check to the committee for $19,900.
A long list of political action committees, most of them affiliated with corporations and industry groups, have been directing money to Mr. Boehner’s trio of political committees.
About half of the 29 PACs that gave to Boehner for Speaker did not contribute to him or his leadership PAC during the 2008 election cycle, a telling sign of the newfound interest in Mr. Boehner’s power. About a third of the more than 160 PACs that directed donations to his personal campaign committee had not given to him in 2008 either.
Political action committee contributions came from a diverse list of industries, with electric utilities and health care among the largest contributors.
Mr. Boehner, in turn, has used his own fund-raising success to spur members of his caucus. At the final meeting of the Republican conference in late September, before Congress adjourned for the midterms, Mr. Boehner took out a $1 million check to the Republican Congressional campaign committee and placed it on the podium, according to Republican aides who were there. He vowed not to deposit it unless his fellow members came up with $3 million in pledges themselves. Members began lining up, with Mr. Boehner even calling out some by name. Soon they had exceeded his goal.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/22/us/politics/22boehner.html?hpw
Kitty Bennett, Bernie Becker and Griffin Palmer contributed reporting.
his leadership pac:
1 Boehner for Speaker Cmte $25,000 $25,000 $0
2 Alliance Resource Partners $20,000 $20,000 $0
2 Alpha Natural Resources $20,000 $10,000 $10,000
2 American Financial Group $20,000 $20,000 $0
2 Rooney Holdings $20,000 $20,000 $0
6 Reynolds American $16,200 $11,200 $5,000
7 Microsoft Corp $15,000 $10,000 $5,000
8 Rothman Institute $14,500 $14,500 $0
9 Peabody Energy $14,250 $9,250 $5,000
10 FMR Corp $13,700 $8,700 $5,000
11 Fierce, Isakowitz & Blalock $11,750 $11,750 $0
12 3M Co $10,000 $5,000 $5,000
12 Altria Client Services $10,000 $10,000 $0
12 American Seniors Housing Assn $10,000 $0 $10,000
12 Ariel Corp $10,000 $10,000 $0
12 AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals $10,000 $5,000 $5,000
12 Bank of America $10,000 $5,000 $5,000
12 Baughan Group $10,000 $10,000 $0
12 Blue Cross/Blue Shield $10,000 $0 $10,000
12 Boeing Co $10,000 $5,000 $5,000
12 Citigroup Inc $10,000 $5,000 $5,000
12 Experian $10,000 $0 $10,000
12 Federated Investors Inc $10,000 $10,000 $0
12 FirstEnergy Corp $10,000 $10,000 $0
12 Limited Brands $10,000 $5,000 $5,000
12 Montgomery Equipment $10,000 $10,000 $0
12 Smithfield Foods $10,000 $10,000 $0
12 The Villages $10,000 $10,000 $0