Republican leader John Boehner and Congressman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) spoke briefly to reporters this morning in the Capitol. Boehner, the minority leader who is expected to be elected speaker of the House, and Walden, the chair of the House majority transition team, gave a few details about the incoming Republican majority’s agenda.
Wearing a blue golf sweater, Boehner said the House Republicans will be focusing on their top priorities as outlined in the Pledge to America, which was released by the Republican House leadership in late September. “That is our plan,” Boehner said, mentioning spending reductions and repeal of the health care law among those provisions.
Asked about his upcoming meeting with President Barack Obama and other Republican leaders, set for next Thursday, Boehner said he hopes to figure out with the president a way to make the Bush tax cuts permanent.
Boehner did not say whether or not he believed there was room for compromise on extending only those tax cuts for the middle class. He did say that “extending all current tax rates and making them permanent” will remove the uncertainty needed to improve the economy.
