JOHN BOEHNER

A new Rasmussen survey shows a majority of the American people oppose President Obama’s decision to reject the Keystone XL energy pipeline. US News & World Report says “56 percent of likely voters at least somewhat favor the pipeline, with 36 percent strongly favoring” the project which would help create at least 20,000 desperately-needed construction and manufacturing jobs.

This strong level of interest in the project was reflected in several of the questions posed on Twitter during the State of the Union and GOP Address to the Nation. For example:

How about Keystone? Wouldn't that have created 100K jobs? #SOTU

— Michael Z (@MichaelsList) January 25, 2012

Reps. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), Tom Reed (R-NY), and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) responded to several Keystone-related questions via videos posted on YouTube following the Republican Address. Here is the response by Rep. McMorris Rodgers:

The New Haven Register called the president’s decision “a transparent election-year maneuver” that “violated the national interest of a secure oil supply” and “undermined Obama’s job creation claims.” Speaker Boehner said, “President Obama’s rejection of the Keystone project has caused a public outcry and provided another example of how his policies are making our economy worse.”

While some Democrats have tried to protect the president from blame (one claimed 20,000 private-sector jobs “is really not that many jobs” -- tell that to the 20,000 Americans who would get these jobs), the fact is the Keystone pipeline is supported by a bipartisan coalition in the House and Senate, governors, labor unions, editorial boards – and a majority of the American people. Learn more about the Republican plan for removing government barriers to energy production and private-sector job growth at jobs.GOP.gov.

Appearing on the Laura Ingraham Show this morning, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) discussed President Obama’s State of the Union address, in which he doubled down on the same failed policies that have held back private-sector job growth and made the economy worse.  Speaker Boehner urged President Obama to come to the table and work with Congress to pass the nearly 30 bipartisan, House-passed jobs bills – many of which reflect the recommendations of the president’s own jobs council – that are stalled in the Democratic-controlled Senate.  Following are audio and excerpts from the interview:

Boehner: “Last Night Was Just Another Campaign Speech.” “He [President Obama] wants to take no responsibility for his policies that have failed and made no reference last night to really stepping into the game and legislating.  He has spent every day since last Labor Day campaigning - not legislating, not involved in the process of our government here.  And last night was just another – another campaign speech.”

Boehner: “We Have Offered to Work with the President” On Jobs “But He’s Got to Come to the Table.” “Listen, we have offered to work with the president, work through his policies.  But he’s got to come to the table. … He’s got to be involved.  And, it’s pretty clear to me that he hasn’t been involved for the last four months.  And unless I see something here in the near future, I have no indications that he actually wants to sit down and work with us.”

In his State of the Union address, President Obama called on Congress to “pass the payroll tax cut without delay.”

Here’s hoping Democrats take those words to heart.  At yesterday’s first meeting of payroll tax relief negotiators, Democrats “seemed to lack a cohesive game plan,” which is not surprising given that the Republican-led House – and only the House – has passed a full-year extension of payroll tax relief that is paid for mainly through offsets supported by the Obama Administration. 

Let’s review yesterday’s meeting of negotiators through the prism of the president’s pleas, one at a time:

If the president is serious about passing the payroll tax cut without delay, he should urge Democrats to present a plan, so productive negotiations can take place and this legislation can soon be enacted.

The next meeting of payroll tax negotiators occurs next week.  Republicans first identified payroll tax relief as an area of common ground in September, and were first to appoint negotiators.  Learn more about the House’s payroll tax relief bill here and visit jobs.GOP.gov for more information on the Republican jobs plan.

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels delivered the Republican Address to the Nation last night following the State of the Union. The governor said President Obama “cannot claim that the last three years have made things anything but worse” – that the spending binge and excessive regulations have hurt job creation and economic growth. You can read the full remarks here and watch the address below:

• “My policies are hurting families and small businesses, and making the economy worse.” Since President Obama took office, 1.7 million fewer Americans have jobs, gas prices have doubled, and families have endured nearly three years of an 8 percent or higher jobless rate.

• “I’m to blame for the failure of my policies to create jobs and strengthen our economy.” President Obama has resorted to the politics of division, blaming everything and everyone from Congress to his predecessors to the American people to ATMs for his poor economic record.

• “I have listened to the American people and will approve the Keystone XL energy pipeline.” The Keystone project, which would create at least 20,000 new jobs in manufacturing and construction, is supported by lawmakers in both parties, labor unions, governors, and editorial boards across the country. And US News reports most Americans want the pipeline built too.

• “My own hand-picked jobs council has urged me to embrace the Republican approach to job creation – and I’m going to take their advice.” Not only does the president’s jobs council report align with the Republican approach to creating new private-sector jobs, it reflects legislation already passed by the House and awaiting action in the Democratic-controlled Senate. See here.

• “Out-of-control government spending and debt is a threat to long-term job growth.” President Obama promised to “cut the deficit in half” by the end of his first term. Instead, he worked with previous Democratic-run Congresses to more than double it. The spending binge “has emerged as one of the main factors weighing down the economy,” says the House Budget Committee.

• “The health care law that passed over the objections of the American people is hurting small businesses, raising costs, and needs to be repealed.” Seventy-four percent of small business owners “say the recent health care law makes it more difficult to hire additional employees.” And Forbes reports that administration actuaries say the “net cost of health insurance will increase by nearly 14 percent, compared to 3.5%” if ObamaCare “had never passed.”

• “I call on my Democratic colleagues in the Senate: put the nearly 30 House-passed jobs bills to a vote and send them to my desk as soon as possible.” These bills eliminate excessive regulations, stop Washington from spending money we don’t have, and more. See the full list here. The American people “can’t wait,” as President Obama says. Time for the Senate to act.

CLAIM: Republicans haven’t been willing to work with the president on jobs legislation.

• “With or without this Congress, I will keep taking actions that help the economy grow.” (President Obama, State of the Union Address, January 24, 2012)

FACT: President Obama clearly can’t run on his record so he is looking for someone to blame. House Republicans have repeatedly worked to find common ground with the president and Senate Democrats, and have passed several bipartisan elements of the president’s jobs plan that have been signed into law.

• In an October memo to House Republicans, Republican leaders outlined several areas of potential common ground with the president. Read it here.

• Several proposals supported by President Obama have passed the House and been signed into law, including three bipartisan trade pacts, a bipartisan veterans hiring bill, and a repeal of the IRS withholding tax on job creators.

• The House also passed the full-year extension of the payroll tax cut wanted by President Obama. The bill included a full-year extension of unemployment insurance and reforms, and a critical business expensing provision (that would help create new jobs) that is also supported by the president.

• On the other hand, the president’s jobs council has embraced many of the jobs proposals advocated by Republicans only to be ignored by the president himself.

• And the Democratic-controlled Senate is sitting on nearly 30 bipartisan House-passed jobs bills – including proposals supported by the president.

BOEHNER QUOTE: “The American people expect us to bring together the best of both parties’ ideas, and it is our desire to work together to find common ground between your ideas and ours.” (Letter from Republican Leaders to President Obama, 9/9/11)

CLAIM: President Obama believes we need to develop “every available source of American energy.”

• “This country needs an all-out, all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy.” (President Obama, State of the Union Address, January 24, 2012)

FACT: The Obama administration’s failed policy of blocking American energy production and job-creating energy project is making our economy worse.

• The president hasn’t urged Senate Democrats to approve any of the House-passed bills that would create jobs by expanding American energy production. These include the Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act (H.R. 1230), the Putting the Gulf of Mexico Back to Work Act (H.R. 1229), the Reversing President Obama’s Offshore Moratorium Act (H.R. 1231), and more.

• Instead, President Obama has actively blocked job-creating energy production and closed off “some of the most promising energy resources in the world.”

• And while the White House “expedited the approval of the Solyndra loan project,” the president rejected the Keystone XL pipeline – and the 20,000+ jobs it would create – which has been under review for more than three years.

• Meanwhile, gas prices have doubled on President Obama’s watch. According to the Associated Press, “the typical American household … spent $4,155 filling up” in 2011 – “a record.”

CLAIM: Much of America “needs to be rebuilt,” and Congress just needs to “fund these projects.”

• “Building this new energy future should be just one part of a broader agenda to repair America’s infrastructure.  So much of America needs to be rebuilt.  We’ve got crumbling roads and bridges. … [Y]ou need to fund these projects.” (President Obama, State of the Union Address, January 24, 2012)

FACT: The ‘stimulus’ didn’t work and the president’s failed policies are making the economy worse. We need a new approach that links infrastructure to energy production to help create jobs.

• The ‘stimulus’ was supposed to be focused “on ready-to-go repairs and maintenance” – what Vice President Biden later called “shovel-ready” projects. President Obama admitted last summer those “shovel-ready” projects weren’t “as shovel-ready as we expected.”

• “The stimulus bill spent nearly $100 billion on infrastructure,” noted Investor’s Business Daily. “Yet when the bulk of that money started to get spent in the ‘Recovery Summer’ of 2010, the economy shed 329,000 jobs.”

• Associated Press reported 10 months after the ‘stimulus’ began that “a surge in spending on roads and bridges has had no effect on local unemployment. Spend a lot or spend nothing at all, it didn't matter.”

• Unlike short-term ‘stimulus’ gimmicks, the American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act (H.R. 7) is a permanent solution that will help create new jobs and finance repairs of our roads and bridges by expanding American energy production.

BOEHNER QUOTE: “Here’s how the bill works: [H.R. 7] will create millions of jobs by eliminating unnecessary barriers that prevent us from using our vast energy resources.  Second, by expanding American energy production we can help lower fuel prices for American families and small businesses, and can provide a new revenue stream for infrastructure repair and improvement.  And thirdly, the bill will include reforms that speed up the bureaucratic approvals that delay important infrastructure projects.” (Speaker John Boehner, Press Conference, 11/17/11)

• “Think about the America within our reach … An America that attracts a new generation of high-tech manufacturing and high-paying jobs. A future where we’re in control of our own energy, and our security and prosperity aren’t so tied to unstable parts of the world.” (President Obama, State of the Union Address, January 24, 2012)

FACT: The president’s failed policies are making the economy worse. By rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline, President Obama destroyed 20,000 new American manufacturing and construction jobs and shipped energy to countries like China.

• The unemployment rate in the construction industry is currently 16 percent.

• The Hill noted that Keystone would have created at least 20,000 new American jobs, including “500 workers for each of the 17 pipeline segments, 100 workers for each of the 30 pump stations, 600 jobs at various construction camps and 1,000 jobs focused on management and inspection,” and “7,000 manufacturing jobs at companies that make key components of the pipeline.”

• Mark Ayers, president of the Building and Construction Trades Department at the AFL-CIO, said: “For America’s skilled craft construction professionals, any discussion of the Keystone XL project begins and ends with one word: Jobs.”

• Instead -- “Obama’s Keystone Denial Prompts Canada to Look to China Sales” (Bloomberg, 1/20/12)

• This means Canadian workers and Chinese firms, who are investing in Canadian energy, will benefit – not American workers. And the energy resources will flow to Asian countries – not the U.S., where it could help lower prices for struggling families and small businesses.

BOEHNER QUOTE: “President Obama is destroying tens of thousands of American jobs and shipping American energy security to the Chinese. There’s really – there’s no other way to put it: the President is selling out American jobs for politics.” (Speaker John Boehner, Press Conference, 1/18/12)

CLAIM: The president wants to expand tax relief to small businesses.

• “Expand tax relief to small businesses that are raising wages and creating good jobs.” (President Obama, State of the Union Address, January 24, 2012)

FACT: The Democrats running Washington have repeatedly proposed tax hikes on small business job creators.

• Last fall, Senate Democrats proposed a tax hike that would have hit more than one-third of all small business income - “approximately 34 percent” in 2013 - according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.

• The tax hike outlined by President Obama last September would “raise taxes on capital” and hurt “the people with resources to invest in start-ups, new businesses and growing jobs,” reported Investor’s Business Daily.

• AP said last summer that “[p]roposals under consideration” by Democrats “include raising taxes on small business owners and potentially low- and middle-income families.”

BOEHNER QUOTE: “The truth is we will never balance the budget and rid our children of debt unless we cut spending and have real economic growth. And we will never have real economic growth if we raise taxes on those in America who create jobs.” (Speaker John Boehner, Address to the Economic Club of New York on Jobs, Debt, Gas Prices, 5/9/11)