House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) released the following statement today following a media availability with GOP leaders regarding Republicans’ efforts to prevent a government shutdown in the event that Democrats fail to do their job and pass a bill that gets serious about cutting spending this week:

“As I’ve said throughout this process, since the spending binge in Washington is hurting job creation in this country, we’re going to fight for the largest cuts possible – real cuts, not more smoke and mirrors.  We’ve made clear that Democrats’ $33 billion proposal is not enough, and much of it is based on gimmicks.  To make a positive impact on our economy, the cuts need to be significant, and they need to be real.  Failing to make real cuts will send a signal to job creators that Washington is still not serious about getting government spending under control.  We’ve also made clear that policy provisions must be part of any final agreement, because the American people are concerned not just about how much we’re spending, but also how we’re spending it. 

“We’re not going to allow the Senate and White House to force us to choose between two options that are bad for America, whether it’s a bad deal that fails to make real spending cuts, or accepting a government shutdown due to Senate inaction.  We’ve introduced a bill that includes $12 billion in cuts over the next week and funds our troops through the year.  We may pass this to keep the government running if Democrats don’t listen to the American people and get serious about cutting spending.

“As I’ve said many times, our goal is to pass real spending cuts to create a better environment for job growth and to keep the government open.  We’ve done our job.  If the government shuts down, the American people will know it was because Senate Democrats failed to do their job.  We can still avoid a shutdown, but Democrats are going to need to get serious about cutting spending – and soon.”