House Speaker John A. Boehner said Sunday he hopes to persuade President Obama after the November election to end the gridlock and tackle a host of contentious issues, including immigration reform and the Keystone XL pipeline.
“I think the conversation’s pretty straightforward,” Mr. Boehner said on ABC’s “This Week.” “Mr. President, you’ve got two years left. Want to have two years like we’ve had the last four years where we just butt heads and butt heads and butt heads?’”
He added, “I didn’t come to Washington to make noise. I went there to do something on behalf of my country. And I think the president ran for office to do something on behalf of the country. And it’s up to us to see where the common ground is. But tax reform, a big highway bill, certainly are in the realm of doable.”
Mr. Boehner acknowledged that he had hoped to have an immigration bill passed by now, but that “we had a flood of children coming across the border, once again proving that no good immigration bill can pass until we have real border security.”
He said the Republican-controlled House has “focused like a laser for the last three and a half years on jobs and the economy” but that more than 40 bills to boost economic growth are stuck in the Senate.
“Let’s start with those bills. How about repealing the tax on medical devices? Broad bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate,” Mr. Boehner said. “How about the Keystone pipeline? Broad bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate.”
The Ohio Republican also predicted that the GOP would pick up more seats in the House and wrest control of the Senate from Democrats in the Nov. 4 election.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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