I appreciate the phone calls and emails I received from my constituents the past several days regarding my vote for the Speaker of the House for the 114th Congress. I voted for Speaker John Boehner; I know some of you are disappointed with that decision. However, I also know that you elected me as your representative to achieve substantive, not symbolic, results. I did not believe the candidates running against the Speaker were organized or prepared to lead based their last-minute campaigns that lacked a vision on how to unite and lead House Republicans. Theirs were not serious, but symbolic campaigns for Speaker. I understand your concerns about Representative Boehner’s ability to serve as Speaker for the 114th Congress and I would like to share why I voted for him. Congressman Boehner was the only candidate to put his name forward for Speaker when the Republican Conference met in November to discuss a position that is third in line to the presidency. None of the other candidates who received votes on the House floor put their names forward more than three business days before the vote, which did not allow for a fair, open, and honest debate. The Rules of the House of Representatives require that bills to be voted on by the House must be made available at least 72 hours before the vote- should we not ask for the same or better from those who wish to lead this body? Furthermore, none of the other candidates contacted me to ask for my vote or explain to me their vision for battling executive branch overreach, returning the House to regular order, and passing responsible legislation to get our country back on track. Speaker Boehner and I do not share the same views on every policy issue. However, with a Republican majority in both the House and Senate, there is now no excuse for any compromise of our principles or legislative proposals, and every expectation that we must achieve genuine results for the American people. I take my responsibility to hold the House Republican leadership accountable very seriously, and will continue to devote considerable energy to ensuring that the will of the American people is executed, and that all legislation proposed by the leadership adheres to our constitutional principles.
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 20:10:31 +0000
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