Boehner: Reid Wants 'Complete' GOP Surrender

Boehner: Reid Wants 'Complete' GOP Surrender

on Sun, 6 Oct 2013

Appearing the October 6th airing of This Week With George Stephanopoulos, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) wants "complete surrender" by the GOP as a prerequisite for meaningful negotiations. 

After, Stephanopoulos said, "Reid said he is more than willing to have a conference, more than willing to have a negotiation, but not under the threat of a government shutdown."  

Boehner responded: "So it's 'my way or the highway,' that's what [Reid] is saying. Complete surrender, and then we'll talk to you."

Boehner added: "It's about having a conversation. I gave the Senate Majority Leader some advice at the White House about how to proceed. I gave him some advice over a week ago... And yet, they refuse to do it."

Stephanopoulos then said that Reid claims Boehner offered to pass a clean government-funding resolution in July. It had no Obamacare amendments and it was $70 billion below what the Senate wanted yet Reid accepted it. Reid now claims Boehner has gone back on it. 

Boehner responded: "Clearly, there was a conversation about doing this... But I and my members decided that the threat of Obamacare and what was happening was so important that it was time for us to take a stand. And we took a stand."

Boehner said the House GOP is "unified" in its opposition to the dangers posed by Obamacare.

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter@AWRHawkins.