CLEVELAND (AP) — House Republican leader John Boehner on Tuesday urged President Barack Obama to support an extension of tax cuts and to fire key economic advisers, arguing that 19 month of “government as community organizer” hasn’t worked.
In a speech to the City Club of Cleveland, Boehner said Obama needs to act immediately on several fronts to break what the Republican describes as “ongoing economic uncertainty.”
Boehner said the president should work with the GOP to renew soon-to-expire tax cuts enacted under President George W. Bush. Congress will tackle the issue when it returns next month.
The lawmaker also called on Obama to propose aggressive spending cuts and seek the resignations of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, the head of the National Economic Council, Larry Summers, and other members of his economic team.
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He also called for repeal of some elements of Obama’s health care overhaul law, arguing that some requirements are too much of an imposition on small businesses.
Boehner also took a swipe at Obama, who worked as a community organizer in Chicago, saying “government as community organizer” hasn’t worked.
The Ohio Republican said U.S. employers are afraid to invest in an economy stalled by the president’s economic stimulus package and hamstrung by uncertainty.
“The prospect of higher taxes, stricter rules and more regulations has employers sitting on their hands,” Boehner said.
The speech was short on details about the Republican agenda, with Boehner promising that the GOP will release its plan next month.
“Endless spending sprees, entangled tax structures and bureaucracy run amok — these are all outgrowths of a tired, bloated and broken Washington,” Boehner said.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.