Here are some interesting facts about Congressman Boehner.
Seems that Obama is addressing a few issues of particular interest to John Boehner. Could this explain Boehner's lack of enthusiasm for Obama's stimulus plans?
First, his website:
http://johnboehner.house.gov/I believe Obama addressed funding for education. Interestingly, this is one of Representative Boehner's interests. He brags about his role in passage of the No Child Left Behind Act:
In January 2001, John was selected by House Republicans to chair the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. Five months later, John’s No Child Left Behind Act – a bill bringing transparency and accountability to the public education system, bolstering the case for school choice – passed the House with overwhelmingly bipartisan support. On January 8, 2002, President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act in Hamilton - a city in Boehner’s congressional district. And he did so in what he called one of the most important places in America: a public school.
http://johnboehner.house.gov/Biography/Remember how Obama said he would cut the farm subsidies to the big, rich, corporate farmers? John Boehner represents a lot of farmers, and some of them get farm subsidies. Here are the statistics on farm subsidies in Boehner's district:
• $419 million in subsidies 1995-2006.
• Ohio ranking: 14 of 50
• Top Recipients 1995-2006
• Top Recipients in 2006
• 63 percent of all farmers and ranchers do not collect government subsidy payments in Ohio, according to USDA.
• Among subsidy recipients, ten percent collected 63 percent of all subsidies amounting to $263 million over 12 years.
• Recipients in the top 10% averaged $27,300 in annual payments between 1995 and 2006. The bottom 80 percent of the recipients saw only $1,038 on average per year.
http://farm.ewg.org/farm/region.php?fips=OH08Here is the list of the top 10 farm subsidy recipients in Boehner's district
1 E L Lavy & Sons ∗ Casstown, OH 45312 $2,252,723
2 Blanton Farms Partnership ∗ Middletown, OH 45042 $1,704,298
3 Hake Farms ∗ Eaton, OH 45320 $1,308,081
4 Robert Goubeaux Versailles, OH 45380 $1,183,402
5 Gerber Farms ∗ Middletown, OH 45042 $1,154,663
6 David Kramer Ansonia, OH 45303 $1,081,835
7 Brubaker Grain & Chem ∗ West Alexandria, OH 45381 $1,058,004
8 La-lynn Farms Inc ∗ Eaton, OH 45320 $1,057,311
9 John Fleck & Sons Inc ∗ Celina, OH 45822 $1,009,323
10 Vonderhaar Farms Inc ∗ Camden, OH 45311 $985,444
http://farm.ewg.org/farm/top_recips.php?fips=OH08&progcode=totalOf course, we do want to know about Congressman Boehner's donors:
Individual Contributions $1,638,383 (32%)
PAC Contributions $2,280,558 (44%)
Candidate self-financing $0 (0%)
Other $1,225,540 (24%)
The top 10 in 2007-2008 were
Communicare Inc $27,600
American Electric Power $25,050
National City Corp $22,000
American Financial Group$21,200
FirstEnergy Corp $17,500
Invacare Corp $16,800
AK Steel $16,300
Cintas Corp $15,500
Boich Companies $14,800
Calfee, Halter & Griswold $14,500
FMR Corp $13,550
Ernst & Young $13,500
Netherland Rubber $13,500
Morgan Stanley $13,300
Forest City Enterprises $13,250
Interface Group $13,200
Limited Brands $13,100
Verizon Communications $12,500
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals $12,300
Goldman Sachs $12,000
SABMiller $12,000
http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.php?cycle=2008&cid=N00003675So who is Calfee, Halter & Griswold?
As a founding member of Lex Mundi, Calfee offers international representation through a network of independent law firms with access to 15,000 attorneys located in 155 countries. Lobbying and government relations services are provided by Thomas Green & Associates LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary. The firm has offices in Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio.
We represent a broad spectrum of businesses, organizations and individuals including:
* Privately held businesses
* Publicly held corporations
* Financial institutions
* State of Ohio, public agencies, counties and municipalities
* Venture capital companies
* Investment banking firms
* Broker-dealers and underwriters
* Health care organizations
* Public/private partnerships
* Professional service organizations
* Insurance companies
* Educational institutions
http://www.calfee.com/aboutus/about_us.aspCalfee, Halter's lobbying group is called Thomas Green & Associates LLC
Thomas Green & Associates lists the following companies among its Representative Consulting Relationships
* AETNA
* Armco Steel Inc.
* Association of International Auto Manufacturer
* Columbia Gas of Ohio
* CSX
* Distilled Spirits Council of the United States
* Fluor Daniel
* Hospital Correspondence Corp.
* Humana, Inc.
* Lake Hospital Systems
* Morgan Stanley Dean Witter
* Mortgage Insurance Companies of America
* National Safety Council
* North American Insulation Manufacturers Association
* Ohio Oil and Gas Association
* Ohio Society of Anesthesiologists
* Owens Corning
* Quorum Health Group
* Recreational Vehicles Industry Association
* Sprint
* Wachenhut Corrections Corporation
http://www.calfee.com/tga.htmlJust for your information.