Contact: Michael Steel, Kevin Smith, 202-225-4000

WASHINGTON, March 18 /Standard Newswire/ -- At a press conference this morning with House & Senate GOP leaders, House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) dismissed President Obama's sales pitch to rank-and-file Democrats that "the fate of his presidency" is on the line with the upcoming health care vote and also discussed the House vote expected today on the resolution offered by Rep. Parker Griffith (R-AL) to block the "Slaughter Solution":

Well, it's pretty clear that Democrat leaders here in Congress and the President aren't listening to the American people.  Because the American people are saying, 'stop!' and they're screaming at the top of their lungs.  The President's latest ploy as he's dealing with Members trying to convince them to vote against their constituents and to vote with him, is to make the point that his presidency is on the line.  Well, I'm sorry Mr. President, this isn't about you.  It's not about the office you hold and it's not about the Speaker.  This is about the American people and the health care system that they want for our country.  We've made clear that it's time to scrap this bill and start over on commonsense reforms to make our current health care system better.  But no, they are going to continue to ram, ram, ram this bill through the Congress.  Every kind of scheme known to man to try and get it through the Congress without a vote. 



"We're going to have an opportunity for the Members today to vote on a straight up-or-down resolution, about requiring a straight up-or-down vote on this bill.  It'll be part of our Previous Question when we get a Rule bill up, and Members will have a chance to vote on that.  But I can tell you this, that Republicans in the House and Senate have worked closely together or the last year, and we're going to continue to work closely together to do everything that we can do to make sure that this bill never, ever, ever passes."