Hoyer Guarantees Democratic Victories In November

By Rob Sanna - Talk Radio News Service

On Tuesday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) downplayed speculation that Democrats may lose the House in the upcoming mid-term elections. Hoyer said the election is going to be a simple referendum on which party Americans want to lead the nation, adding that Republicans are eager to bring back the policies of the Bush years.

“The public is very concerned about the economy, [Democrats] share that concern,” he told reporters during his weekly press briefing.

“We have been working very hard to get this economy out of the very deep ditch that the Bush administration policies put it into, which were almost unanimously supported by Republicans in the House and Senate, who are now saying they want to return to that exact same agenda.”

Those policies, said Hoyer, created the “worst economy that we’ve had, worst job production, large deficit…That, in my opinion, is what America is going to vote on.”

Democrats need to prevent a Republican net gain of at least 10 seats in the Senate and 40 seats in the House in order to keep their majority this November.

Top Democrat Says War Bill, Domestic Spending May Be Split

By Linn Grubbstrom - Talk Radio News Service

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters Tuesday about a possible split in the Afghanistan war spending bill and a domestic spending package, making room for Democrats to vote on each issue separately.

Hoyer said that this is the approach leadership would likely take and is looking for Republican support in order to pass legislation before the July 4th holiday break.

“I would hope my Republican friends would support that,” Hoyer said during his weekly news briefing at Capitol Hill. “They say they’re for the funding of the troops.”

Army Gen. David Petraeus told Congress Tuesday that legislation must be passed in order to secure success in Afghanistan.

“Enabling further such progress … and successfully implementing the president’s strategy will require that our work in Afghanistan is fully resourced,” he said.

House Will Pass New Spending Bill, Says Top Democrat

By Alexa Gitler-Talk Radio News Service

“We will have enough votes,” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) on Tuesday in response to the House's plans to vote this week on $190 billion in new spending.

Dubbed the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act by Sander Levin (D-Mich.), the bill includes $1 billion for summer jobs for teens, whose current jobless rate is 25.4%, and $47 billion to extend unemployment insurance to nearly two full years.

“It is our job to promote job growth in the current economy, and we have had significant success digging out of a deep hole,” Hoyer said. “Extending unemployment insurance is necessary coming out of a presidency which resulted in a loss of 8 million jobs.”

Hoyer is hopeful that Republicans will join and give their support for the spending, however many Republicans have been very critical of the amount of spending done by the Obama administration since he was elected into office.

Hoyer: Hitting Restart Button On Health Care Reform Would Not Be Efficient

By Sofia Sanchez University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Tuesday that requests from Republicans to restart efforts to reform the U.S. health care system are unrealistic.

“We have had very fullsome consideration of this bill and starting over does not seem a path that would be very efficient at all,” said Hoyer.

The Majority Leader also discussed the differences between the Republicans' and Democrats' legislative approach to health care, saying “the Republican bill will only cover three million Americans as opposed to the Democrats' bill which will cover 31-35 million Americans.”

Hoyer added that he hopes the Health Care Summit at the Blair House Thursday will bring about an open forum for both Republicans and Democrats to present their best ideas for health care reform.

Hoyer also commented on the small signs of bipartisanship surrounding the jobs bill, most notably the five Republican senators have helped bring it to a final vote.

“I think it’s a good sign,” said Hoyer.

The Senate is expected to pass the bill this week.

Hoyer: House Health Care Bill Could Be Rolled Out This Week

By Meagan Wiseley - University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters Tuesday that there is a possibility the House will introduce its health care bill by the end of this week.

“That’s our objective because we want to consider this bill next week. And we’ve pledged to give 72 hours notice so we need to roll out the bill this week,” Hoyer said.

Regarding the inclusion of a public option in the bill, Hoyer said he still believes the tax-payer funded insurance plan is critically important to bring health care prices down and to ensure access for all Americans, but added it is "just one component of a very comprehensive bill.”

Hoyer also said that he is pleased with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) announcement yesterday that the Senate bill will contain an opt-out version of the public option plan.

“I think our bill will be somewhat different on public option, but we are very pleased that Senator Reid is now talking about a form of public option,” Hoyer said.