John Boehner - 8th District of Ohio

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Apr 4, 2008

Washington - Just days after a government watchdog group released its annual report on worthless Washington spending, some in the U.S. House have signaled they may load up a critical troop funding bill with lawmaker pet projects that receive little to no public scrutiny.  Citizens Against Government Waste’s “Pig Book” details the nearly $18 billion worth of pet projects squeezed into just 12 spending bills for Fiscal Year 2008 such as $212,000 for olive fruit fly research in Paris, France, $188,000 for the Lobster Institute in Maine and $149,000 for the Montana Sheep Institute.  

In recent weeks, the House Democratic leadership had led the American public to believe they would join House Republicans in supporting an immediate freeze on all taxpayer-funded “earmarks,” but we learned recently that they now refuse to do so.  Instead, the Democratic leadership hinted it will again pile unrelated spending onto the backs of our troops fighting the global War on Terror.  Last year, this bill was porked up with such “priorities” as peanut storage and money for spinach farmers.  

In a recent speech to the American Legion, I warned about 1,500 state commanders that there will be politicians who view the troop funding bill as an opportunity for pork-barrel spending.  Using the troop funding bill as a vehicle for pork is wrong.  The bill should be focused on keeping our troops and our nation safe, and House Republicans will again fight to make sure our warriors get the money they need without having to shoulder worthless Washington spending.

Keeping Our Children Safe

The U.S. House recently voted on a bill to renew support for federal fire safety and training programs.  House Republicans tried to amend this legislation to protect firefighters from frivolous lawsuits when they install child seats in vehicles as a community service.  In an effort to help parents ensure their child safety seats are safely and properly installed, many fire departments voluntarily install seats for local parents or provide guidance on the seats’ proper installation and use.

According to the National Institute of Highway Safety, young children who are restrained in safety seats have an 80 percent lower risk of fatal injury than children who are unrestrained.  What’s more, child safety seats reduce injury risk by 71 percent for infants and by 54 percent for toddlers, age one to four years.  

But improper use of child safety seats – from poor installation to using the wrong seat – continues to plague parents looking to protect their kids.  Three years ago, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration determined that fire department training courses on child seat installation were effective, yet those firefighters taking the classes expressed concerns about liability issues.  And there are real-world consequences for the liability fears: in one Michigan community, for example, local safety officials declined to install a child safety seat for new parents because they were afraid of being sued, according to a report by the Lansing (Michigan) State Journal.

Unfortunately, House Republicans’ efforts to protect these dedicated firefighters who volunteer their time to assist new parents failed.  The amendment was narrowly defeated (205 to 209), marking another victory for the interests of trial attorneys (who contributed heavily to Democratic campaigns in 2006) in the Democrat-controlled 110th Congress.

Autism Awareness

The month of April has been designated as Autism Awareness Month.  The Autism Society of America describes this disorder as “a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and affects a person’s ability to communicate and interact with others.  Autism is defined by a certain set of behaviors and is a ‘spectrum disorder’ that affects individuals differently and to varying degrees.  There is no known single cause for autism.”

Autism affects about 1 in every 150 children – approximately 1.5 million persons in the U.S. – and tends to impact boys more than girls.  Early diagnosis and treatment help those diagnosed with this disorder.

The Autism Society of America provides some signs to look for in your children:

•    Lack of or delay in spoken language;
•    Repetitive use of language and/or motor mannerisms;
•    Little of no eye contact;
•    Lack of interest in peer relationships;
•    Lack of spontaneous or make-believe play;
•    And persistent fixation on parts of objects.

In our area, there are several organizations dedicated to supporting both those diagnosed with autism and the related Asperger’s Syndrome as well as their families and caregivers.  Those organizations include the Autism Society of Greater Cincinnati, Dayton Area Families for Effective Autism Treatment (DAFEAT), Dayton Autism Networking Team and Dayton Asperger’s Resource Network.  I applaud the good work of these local organizations.  They’re making a positive difference in our community.

Boehner represents Ohio’s 8th District, which includes all of Darke, Miami and Preble counties, most of Butler and Mercer counties, and the northeastern corner of Montgomery County.  He was first elected to Congress in 1990.