House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Wednesday that President Barack Obama should find someone's "ass to kick" regarding the budget deficit. The Republican leader riffed off comments the president made Tuesday that he consults with experts on the BP oil spill to determine "whose ass to kick."
"Look, we’re broke," Boehner said in a statement. "We’re $13 trillion in debt, and 43 cents of every dollar the federal government spends this year we’re going to have to borrow and pass the bill on to our kids and grandkids.
"I think it’s time for Democrats here on Capitol Hill to start listening to the American people. They want spending cut and they want it cut now. And I’m wondering, why isn’t the president looking for someone’s ‘ass to kick’ on this subject?"
House Republicans have railed against Democrats for passing policies such as the federal stimulus package and the healthcare law, saying that they have caused the deficit to balloon out of control. Boehner also argued that Democratic policies have fallen short on job creation, citing the lower-than-expected 41,000 new private sector jobs last month.
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Democrats, however, have blamed Republicans for the current fiscal mess, saying they had eight years to bring down the deficit and failed to do so.
They say that the stimulus as well as other job creation measures are slowly but surely helping the economy get back on its feet.
"Since it was the Republican policies that doubled the debt, turned surpluses into deficits and created an economic crisis, maybe Mr. Boehner should reconsider what he is asking for," Doug Thornell, spokesman for Assistant to the Speaker Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said.
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