[edit] Education

• Educational Training
  • With a vote of 416-0 the House of Representative approved the Green Energy Education Act of 2007 (H.R. 1716) in June of 2007. The bill will allow the Secretary of Energy to contribute research and development funds to the National Science Foundation for the purpose of supporting graduate education that is related to energy technology. It also authorizes the Secretary to provide funds for the improvement of undergraduate and graduate engineering and architecture curriculum on the design and construction of "high performance buildings." Representative Boehner did not vote on this bill. H.R. 1716 was ultimately integrated into the America COMPETES Act (H.R. 2272) which is now law, but was not fully funded in the budget.
• Educational Funding
  • Representative Boehner voted for the 10,000 Teachers, 10 Million Minds Science and Math Scholarship Act (H.R. 362). The legislation will require the National Science Foundation to increase its funding of the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program with the goal of increasing the number of math and science teachers by up to 10,000 per year. The Noyce program provides scholarships to math, science, technology, and engineering students who commit to becoming teachers upon graduation. The legislation passed with a vote of 389-22.
• Teaching Evolution/Intelligent Design
  • In a letter to the Ohio School Board after the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002, Representative Boehner wrote that "[i]t’s important that the implementation of these science standards not be used to censor debate on controversial issues in science, including Darwin’s theory of evolution. Science is neither religion nor philosophy. Many people may draw religious or philosophical implications from science, but those implication are best drawn outside the science classroom. Students should be allowed to hear the scientific arguments on more than one side of a controversial topic. Censorship of opposing points of view retards true scholarship and prevents students from developing their critical thinking skills."^[1]

[edit] Energy

• Energy Policy
  • Introduced on 5/15/2009 by Rep. Waxman and cosponsored by Rep. Markey, the American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454) aims to create jobs, protect the environment, and increase American energy independence through new regulation of utilities and industry, as well as investment in an array of new technologies. Key provisions of this bill include: mandating that, by 2020, utilities meet 20% of their electricity demand through increased efficiency and/or renewable sources, implement new energy efficiency regulations for buildings and appliances, reduce carbon emissions from large US by more than 80% by 2050, as well as investing in new clean energy technologies and improving the energy efficiency of existing technology.
    
    Representative Boehner voted against this bill.
• In an op-ed for the Washington Times, Rep. Boehner calls for an "all of above" energy policy. He also calls an energy policy proposal to open limited drilling on the Outer Coastal Shelf but also repeal tax credits for oil companies presented by Speaker Pelosi and endorsed by the Sierra Club "anti-American."
• Clean Coal Technology
  • Nothing posted to date
• Fuel Economy Standards
  • On the radio show "America's Business with Mike Hambrick" in August 2007, Representative Boehner criticized an increase in fuel economy standards, saying "When it comes to CAFE, I think the proposal that was passed in the Senate, that’s being sponsored by Miss Pelosi and Mr. Markey from Massachusetts will wreck America’s economy…I think that’s very bad for our country."^[2]
  • See discussion of CLEAN Energy Act under Renewable Energy section.
• Nuclear Power
  • Template:Vote-EnergyDeptAppropriations2010House
  • During consideration of H.R. 6, Representative Boehner admonished (see Youtube) the lack of debate on nuclear energy, saying "And my goodness why won’t we talk about nuclear energy on the floor of the House of Representatives of the United States when we know that it’s the cleanest source of fuel for our future?
• Renewable Energy
  • See stimulus discussion under Innovation section.
  • In January of 2007, the House of Representatives passed the CLEAN Energy Act of 2007 (H.R. 6). This legislation is intended to address a royalties oversight that occurred when the Department of the Interior issued leases for off-shore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico from 1998 to 1999. The bill would also deny income tax deductions for oil and gas companies. Revenues generated from these provisions would be used for the development of alternative fuels and renewable energy sources. Opponents of the bill claimed that the legislation would raise costs for the domestic production of oil and could increase foreign oil imports. Representative Boehner voted for this legislation, which passed with a vote of 264-163.
    
    During consideration of H.R. 6 in June of 2007, the Senate changed the focus of the legislation into developing a more comprehensive energy bill that focused on the development of renewable fuels, energy conservation, and increased Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. In the face of a veto threat from President Bush, the House passed the Senate version of H.R. 6 with amendments by a vote of 235-181 on December 6, 2007. Representative Boehner voted for this bill. The final Senate rendering of the bill, which passed with a vote of 86-8, still included language raising CAFE standards to 35 mpg by 2020. The final version of the bill passed in the House with a vote of 314-100 and was signed into law by President Bush on December 19, 2007.

• • In a press release issued on the day of the vote on H.R. 6, Boehner criticized the 'No-Energy Bill' as "containing plenty of pork, higher taxes, and a maze of new federal government regulations, but it creates no new energy to provide American families with relief from soaring energy prices. In fact, it leaves more than 100 million American families in the cold, facing the highest home-heating prices in history this winter and jeopardizes millions of jobs as American factories consider closing their doors because of skyrocketing energy costs."^[3]
  • In August 2007, Representative Boehner voted for the final passage of the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2007 (H.R. 3221). The legislation would provide tax incentives to promote the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency, including guaranteeing up to $1 billion in loans for the development of biorefineries and biofuel production facilities. The measure also would repeal tax deductions to income attributed to the domestic production of oil and natural gas. It passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 241-172 and was sent to the Senate.
    
    A controversial amendment to the bill was H. Amdt. 748 sponsored by Representative Udall. This amendment would require retail electric suppliers to provide 15% of their electricity through a renewable energy portfolio standard (RPS) by 2020. Representative Boehner voted for the amendment, which was adopted with a vote of 220 to 190.
• Off Shore Drilling
  • On September 16, 2008 the House passed H.R. 6899, the Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act. This act allows oil and gas leasing in areas of the Outer Continental Shelf Planning Area that are more than 50 miles from the coastline and establishes a Strategic Energy Efficiency and Renewable Reserve. Representative Boehner voted against this legislation. This legislation was passed with a vote of 236 to 189.
• Energy Independence
  • On July 22nd, 2008, Rep. Boehner introduced the American Energy Act (HR 6566). "The bill calls for leasing regulations for offshore natural gas by 2010, removing restrictions for outer continental shelf drilling, and opening up sections of ANWR for drilling."^[4]

[edit] Environment

• After the House failed to pass S. 22 under suspension of the rules (which requires 2/3 to vote for a provision, but does not allow any amendments), the Senate called an unrelated bill, (HR 146), to carry the omnibus land bill. The bill is a combination of over 150 public land bills and will designate over 2 million acres of land as wilderness, improve the management of currently protected land, establish new water projects, and more. Swapping the original legislation in HR 146 for the land bill was designed to make finalizing the bill in the House easy.
  
  When HR 146 was brought to the Senate, Sen. Coburn (R-OK) introduced several amendments, though only one passed:
  • Amendment 682: to make it less likely that casual stone collectors would run afoul of the criminal restrictions on taking paleontological fossils from federal land (passed)
  • Amendment 675: to stop federal officials from using the power of eminent domain to take land from citizens. Critics say this amendment was unnecessary as eminent domain would not be used in any lands included in the bill.
  • Amendment 677: to require an annual report on the total size and cost of federal property.
  • Amendment 679: to strike provisions that would block renewable-energy development on public land
  • Amendment 680: to bar new construction in national parks until the Interior secretary certifies that current sites are up to date, and
  • Amendment 683: to eliminate what Coburn considers to be "frivolous" projects

The bill passed the Senate on March 19, 2009. It passed the House by a vote of 285-140 on March 25, 2009. Representative Boehner voted against this bill. It was then signed into law by President Obama on March 30, 2009.

• When choosing members for the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming in March 2007, Representative refused^[5] to give a Republican seat to Representative Gilchrest (R-MD), the chair of the House Climate Change caucus, because he refused to deny that humans were the cause of climate change.

[edit] Climate Change

• Regarding the H.R.2454 American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 - commonly known as the Climate Change Legislation, Representative Beohner strongly disagreed with the contents of the bill, dubbing the legislation "a pile of s--t." ^[6]

• Minority Leader Boehner was an outspoken critic of the climate change bill in June, 2009. After Waxman and Peterson came to an agreement that the USDA would run the program overseeing agricutlrual activities that fall under the bill (instead of the EPA, as Waxman originally proposed), Boehner said: "While Peterson managed to rearrange a few deck chairs, this bill remains an economic Titanic for America, especially for families in rural areas."^[7]

[edit] Health

• Template:Vote-HHRAndEducationAndAppropriations2010
• Nov 2, 2009 Rep. Boehner has announced the major points of his party's alternative bill in the House of Reps.
  • Number one: let families and businesses buy health insurance across state lines;
  • Number two: allow individuals, small businesses, and trade associations to pool together and acquire health insurance at lower prices, the same way large corporations and labor unions do today;
  • Number three: give states the tools to create their own innovative reforms that lower health care costs; and
  • Number four: end junk lawsuits that contribute to higher health care costs by increasing the number of tests and procedures that physicians sometimes order not because they think it's good medicine, but because they are afraid of being sued. The full article and details may be read here House GOP's Health Care Reform

• On July 21, 2009, Rep. Boehner expressed his disapproval of the new Health Care Reform legislation, saying “It’s time to scrap this bill,” ^[8]
• On July 14, 2009, regarding the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, Representative Boehner stated that it was "criminal malpractice" for House Democrats to support what he called “a new small-business tax.” ^[9]
• Speaking of the Health Care reform, Boehner said that addressing the health care issue through mandates will "lead to higher costs, rationing, and lower quality health care delivery," ^[10]
• Introduced on March 3, 2009 by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (H.R. 1256) aims to increase the authority of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in regulating tobacco in America. The legislation would empower the FDA to require larger warning labels on cigarette packaging, control nicotine levels, and regulate the advertising and marketing of cigarettes. During the 110th Congress, an identical bill had passed in the House in July of 2008 but was never considered in the Senate. The current bill passed in the House on April 2, 2009 by a vote of 298-112. Representative Boehner voted against this bill. The Obama administration has released a statement in support of the bill and Senator Edward Kennedy stated that “the Senate will approve it expeditiously.”
• See stimulus discussion under Innovation section.

• In January 2007, Representative Boehner voted against ^[11] the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act of 2007 (H.R. 4) ^[12], which would have allowed the federal government to negotiation directly with drug companies to lower the price of prescription drugs for Medicare.
• Healthcare
  • During the Summer 2009 debate on healthcare reform, Boehner blamed the harshness of the debate on the White House, "They rejected our efforts to work together."^[13]
  • After being vetoed twice by President Bush in 2007, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) (H.R. 2) bill was reintroduced in the 111th Congress on January 13, 2009. SCHIP provides a subsidy for children’s insurance for families that cannot afford private insurance yet earn too much to qualify for Medicaid. The cost of the program is funded by an increase in cigarette taxes of 62 cents per pack. The House of Representatives voted 289-139 to pass the bill on January 14, 2009. Representative Boehner voted against this bill. The Senate also passed SCHIP, and it was signed into law by President Obama on February 4, 2009.
  • In April of 2007, the House of Representatives passed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2007 (H.R. 493) with a vote of 420-3. Representative Boehner voted for this bill. If enacted, GINA will prevent health insurance companies from adjusting premiums on the basis of genetic information and forbid requiring individuals to undergo genetic tests. The bill will also prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of genetic information. This legislation is currently awaiting action in the Senate.
  • On July 15, 2008, both Houses of Congress voted to override President Bush’s veto of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act (H.R. 6331), a bill to put off an almost 11% cut of payments to doctors who care for Medicare patients. The legislation offset putting off the payment cuts for doctors by reducing reimbursements to insurance companies that include Medicare patients in their managed-care programs.[1] The House voted 383 to 41 in favor of a veto override. Representative Boehner voted against this legislation.
  • On September 25, 2007, Representative Boehner voted against “Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act” (H.R. 976). This bill would have increased funding for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) by $50 billion dollars over five years. On October 3, 2007, President Bush vetoed ^[14] H.R. 976, citing that the bill moved too many children towards federally funded healthcare. Boehner voted twice to sustain the President's veto, saying in a after press release ^[15]after the last veto attempt that “After two failures to override the President’s vetoes of their flawed SCHIP bill, I hope congressional Democrats finally end the political games that have dominated this debate and work with Republicans to focus on low-income children first. The Majority’s bill would shortchange low-income children and expand SCHIP coverage to illegal immigrants, adults, and those who already have private health insurance." On December 29, 2007, President Bush signed ^[16] the Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 (S. 2499) which extends funding for SCHIP through March of 2009, but does not significantly increase the program.
• Embryonic Stem Cell Research</p>
  • In April of 2007, Congress passed the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007 (S. 5), which would have overturned President Bush's ban on the use of federal funding for research on embryonic stem cell lines created after August 9, 2001. Representative Boehner voted against the legislation. The bill passed the House of Representatives with a vote of 247-176 and the Senate with a vote of 63-34. President Bush vetoed both this legislation and an identical bill that was passed by Congress in 2006.</p>
• Non-Embryonic Stem Cell Research
  • Representative Boehner supports federal funding for adult stem cells. In a June 2007 statement^[17], he praised the 'potential' of adult stem cells compared to the "controversial and non-productive results of embryonic stem cells."
  • In December 2005, Congress passed the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005 (H.R. 2520), which President Bush signed on December 20, 2005. The law "creates a new Federal program to collect and store cord blood, and expands the current bone marrow registry program to also include cord blood." Representative Boehner voted for this bill. The legislation passed the House of Representatives with a vote of 431-1 and passed the Senate by unanimous consent.</p>
• Food
  • Template:Vote-FoodSafetyEnhancementAct2009House

[edit] Innovation

• Stimulus
  • On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (H.R. 1). This stimulus bill contains over $30 billion for energy initiatives including the Smart Grid Investment Program and advanced battery systems; $20 billion in tax incentives for renewable energy for both businesses and homes; over $8 billion for augmenting energy efficiency in federal buildings and housing programs; and $7 billion to extend broadband service to underserved communities. The Act also gives the National Science Foundation $3 billion for research; the National Institutes of Health over $10 billion for research and renovations; NASA $1 billion, a portion of which to employ more scientists; and the Department Of Energy’s Office of Science $1.6 billion for energy research. Finally, it provides $19 billion for a modernized Health Information Technology (HIT) system; $87 billion to help fund Medicaid programs; $1 billion for health prevention programs; subsidies for temporary insurance; and $19 billion for clean water and environmental restoration programs. For a more complete listing of the bill’s provisions, click here.
    
    It passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 246-183 on February 13th and passed the Senate on February 13th. Representative Boehner voted against this bill.
  • Bohner was quoted in the Washington Post denouncing the stimulus package, "This bill is supposed to be about jobs, jobs, jobs, and it's turned into nothing more than spend, spend, spend."

• Representative Boehner advocated for the FCC to take a hands-off approach to internet regulation in a July 31, 2008 letter he sent to Kevin Martin, Chair of the Federal Communications Commission. While some internet providers have reportedly constrained large-file transfers, Boehner believes the answer will lie in the "market-based, self-governing nature" of the Internet.^[18]

[edit] COMPETES

• COMPETES Act
  • On August 9, 2007, President Bush signed the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science (COMPETES) Act (H.R. 2272) into law. The law authorizes the increased funding of the National Science Foundation putting it on track to double funding over the next seven years, increased funding for the National Institute of Standards and Technology and competitive grants for teachers and schools with the goal of strengthening the quality of education in science, math, and critical foreign languages. The bill was passed with unanimous consent in the Senate and was agreed to by a vote of 367-57 by the House after being reconciled in a conference committee. Representative Boehner voted against this legislation. The America COMPETES Act was not fully funded in 2008.
• In a floor speech given on the day of the vote, Representative Boehner cited bureaucracy as the reason for his refusal to support the legislation, saying: “You know, this bill creates a lot of Washington bureaucracies and a lot of Washington bureaucrats. And the only thing competitive about this bill will be the competition for office space created by all the new bureaucrats that will be employed as a result of this bill. I know there are some good things in this bill, and I know my colleagues worked hard at it. But at the end of the day this looks too much to me like Washington as usual, and as a result I’m unable to support the bill.”^[19]

[edit] Research and Research Management

• Funding
  • See stimulus discussion under Innovation section.
  • In May of 2007, Representative Boehner voted for the final passage of the National Science Foundation Funding Authorization Act of 2007 (H.R. 1867), which authorizes appropriations for the National Science Foundation for the fiscal years 2008, 2009 and 2010. The final vote count was 399 to 17.
    
    During debate on this legislation, H. Amdt. 128 was offered by Rep. Honda that will allow the NSF to support the creation of K-12 curriculum focused on global warming, climate change, and actions people can take to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Rep. Sullivan of Oklahoma offered a secondary amendment, H. Amdt. 129, that would have required the education materials referenced in Rep. Honda’s amendment to "reflect the diversity of scientific opinion, including the diversity of opinion regarding the impact of human activities on climate change." Congressional Democrats criticized the Sullivan amendment as seeming "to suggest that there is an equal weight of evidence against that perspective [that humans are causing climate change] as there is in favor of it" (read the full debate). The Sullivan amendment failed by a vote of 166 to 250. The Honda Amendment passed by a vote of 252 to 165.
    
    Representative Boehner voted for the Sullivan amendment and voted against the Honda Amendment.

• Technology
• On March 18, 2009, Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN) introduced the Electronic Waste Research and Development Act (HR 1580) which works to reduce the waste caused by dumping unwanted electronics and to boost awareness of how to recycle such products. The bill would fund increased research on how to separate out hazardous material from waste as well as fund grants to universities to create curriculums to help in the reduction of this waste. HR 1580 passed in the House by voice vote on April 22, 2009. Representative Boehner voted for this legislation.
  • See stimulus discussion under Innovation section.
• In the summer of 2008, the House met to consider the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (H.R. 6304), which would give retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that wiretapped customers’ phones for the Bush administration shortly after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The legislation also allows the warrantless wiretapping of American citizens for up to 7 days before obtaining court approval. The House passed the bill with a vote of 293 to 129, and the legislation was signed by President Bush on July 7, 2008. Representative Boehner voted for this legislation.

[edit] Endnotes

1. ↑ Boehner Letter to Ohio School Board. March 15, 2002. http://sharp.sefora.org/w/images/1/1f/Boehner-OhioLetter.pdf
2. ↑ "America's Business with Mike Hambrick". August 28, 2007. http://www.americasbusinessblog.org/
3. ↑ Boehner Statement on the “No Energy” Bill. Dec. 6, 2007. http://johnboehner.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=80205
4. ↑ The American Energy Act: Supply Side Solutions. July 23, 2008. http://blog.heritage.org/2008/07/23/the-american-energy-act-supply-side-solutions/
5. ↑ Global warming panel makeup questioned. March 20, 2007.http://www.chesapeakeclimate.org/news/news_detail.cfm?id=303
6. ↑ The Hill http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/boehner-climate-bill-a-pile-of-s--t-2009-06-27.html
7. ↑ Darren Goode, Waxman, Peterson Have Climate Deal, Congress Daily, June 24, 2009.
8. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/us/politics/22health.html
9. ↑ Pear, Robert, and David M. Herszenhorn. "House Health Plan Outlines Higher Taxes on Rich." New York Times. 14 Jul. 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/15/health/policy/15health.html
10. ↑ http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jlMpJGn28kqCcgU-aGcYE_ZHW-ywD998FSQ80
11. ↑ Final Vote Results for Roll Call 23. Jan. 12, 2007. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll023.xml
12. ↑ http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h.r.00004:
13. ↑ Washington Post Aug. 19, 2009
14. ↑ Message to the House of Representatives. Oct. 3, 2007. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/10/20071003-2.html
15. ↑ Boehner Disappointed at Missed Opportunity to Strengthen SCHIP on Behalf of Low-Income Children. Jan. 23, 2008. http://johnboehner.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=82443
16. ↑ President Bush Signs H.R. 4839 and S. 2499. Dec. 29, 2007. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/12/20071229-1.html
17. ↑ An Ethical Approach to Stem Cell Research. Jun. 25, 2007.http://johnboehner.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=72164
18. ↑ Letter to Kevin Martin from John Boehner, July 31, 2008.
19. ↑ Boehner Floor Speech on the Importance of Competitiveness. Aug. 2, 2007. http://republicanleader.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=71086