John Boehner, Frank Luntz on what Congressional Republicans must do

John Boehner (R-OH), the presumptive speaker in the 112th Congress, which opens in January, shows in an op-ed piece that he's been listening to voters, especially the tea party. And Frank Luntz reports what voters he's surveyed want Republicans to do. LINKS: Repubicans won the midterm elections. Now can they survive? By Frank I. Luntz. What the next speaker must do, by John Boehner. Boehner specifies:

• No more earmarks
• Every bill should include a clause citing where in the Constitution Congress is given the power to pass it.
• No more "comprehensive bills"
• No more bills written behind closed doors in the speaker's office.

Luntz says he's found "clear support" for:

 

 

 

 

(1) Balance the budget as quickly as possible through meaningful spending reductions, a hard spending cap and a constitutional amendment so that it never gets unbalanced again.

 

 

 

 

(2) Eliminate all earmarks until the budget is balanced, then require a two-thirds vote by Congress for future earmark legislation.

(3) Keep taxes down by requiring supermajorities for increases, and eventually enact tax reform with a simple, low, fair rate that drastically reduces the length of the IRS code.

(4) Create a blue-ribbon task force that engages in a complete, line-by-line forensic audit of federal agencies and programs to end waste and reduce red tape and bureaucracy.

(5) And require Congress to provide specific constitutional authorization for every bill it passes so that the government stays within the boundaries imagined by the founders.

 

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