We hope everyone enjoyed their holidays with family  and friends.  We had a wonderful Annual Meeting in D.C. and you will find some information in Chapter News.Please send us photos.

Bob Gebhardt, Chairman, RA-Switzerland will -host of the upcoming:
Regional Meeting
Europe and the Middle East
Lugano, Switzerland,
September 19th-21st, 2008.
We hope all of you attend.

His first two terms in the House were marked by an aggressive campaign to clean up Congress and make it more accountable to the American people. During his freshman year, Boehner and fellow members of the reform-minded “Gang of Seven" took on the House establishment and successfully closed the House Bank, uncovered "dine-and-dash" practices at the House Restaurant, and exposed drug sales and cozy cash-for-stamps deals at the House Post Office.

Later, John was instrumental in crafting the Contract with America, the bold 100-day agenda for the 104th Congress that nationalized the 1994 elections. One of the Contract's cornerstones - the Congressional Accountability Act, requiring Congress to live under the same rules and regulations as the rest of the nation - bears the unmistakable imprint of his drive to reform the House.

The success of John's reform-minded agenda earned him election to the House Republican leadership after the Republican election victories in 1994. While in Congress, John has never lost sight of the need for greater fiscal responsibility in the federal government - a hallmark of his career as a small business owner. As House Republican Conference Chairman in the 104th and 105th Congress, John was a powerful voice in the fight to force Washington to stick to the strict spending limits in the Balanced Budget Act.  More recently, in 109th Congress, Boehner led passage of new reforms clamping down on earmarks – special interest projects quietly inserted into spending bills.

In September 1999, as Vice-Chairman of the House Administration Committee, John joined former House Speaker Dennis Hastert to announce the first-ever "clean" independent audit of the House – a reform he first called for as a member of the Gang of Seven in 1992. "It was a proud day for the man who joined the committee in part because of his expertise in accountability and advocacy of government entities run by private-sector principles," Roll Call, a top Capitol Hill news source, observed.

John is also active in education reform issues.  In 1994, he passed legislation with strong bipartisan support allowing school districts to use their Title I funds for public school choice programs, under which parents could choose which public school their children would attend.

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.

As committee chairman, Boehner also authored the Pension Protection Act – the most sweeping reform of America's pension laws in more than 30 years.  On August 17, 2006, President Bush signed Boehner’s pension bill into law which, according to an op-ed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “will make it possible for millions of Americans to save more now for a better future.”

Boehner’s congressional district ranks among the largest agricultural districts in the State of Ohio, and for many years he was Ohio’s sole voice on the House Agriculture Committee.  John was the driving force behind the Freedom to Farm Act of 1996 - legislation freeing American agriculture from intrusive government regulation - and he was a leading opponent of 2002 legislation that reversed many of these important free-market reforms.  Each year he hosts the Ohio Farm Forum, an event featuring distinguished panelists and keynote speakers, including U.S. Secretaries of Agriculture and leaders in farming and agri-business.  Farm Forum draws hundreds of individuals from around the Buckeye State with an interest in agriculture.

On November 17, 2006, Boehner was elected by his colleagues to serve as House Republican Leader.  Boehner believes Republicans can earn back the majority in Congress by getting back to their core principles and focusing on developing new ideas that win broad-based support among the American people.  Since February 2006 when Boehner was elected to serve as House Majority Leader, he has worked to reinvigorate the spirit of reform that first brought him to Congress.

We will be sending the advertising schedule with more  new ads in the next few days. We have added a page, Young Republicans Abroad, to the website.  The person in charge of YRA is Kate Pesey kate.pesey@yahoo.com  and she has started the first chapter in France. Switzerland has expressed also the intention o

From Chris Fussner

Global Chairman’s Message

As you are probably very aware, Republicans will have a challenging time ahead and it is in our interest, as Americans living overseas, to support Republican candidates.  One of the foremost reasons are TAXES and, if Democrats have their way,we will suffer the burden of  the “Mother of all Tax Hikes”, for many years to come.  So we must start working NOW.

 

We have an exciting Agenda for 2008.  We are planning two Regional Meetings in Mexico and Canada, as well as one in  Europe and one in the Far East. 

We are in the process of planning our Annual Meeting,  March 6-8, 2008 and we will ensure that your trip to the States  is worthwhile.

 Republicans Abroad has demonstrated over the years that it is a “political home” for Americans living overseas and our presence in Washington , D.C. is a reminder to politicians and leaders that we can be a force of support.

Thank you for your time and look forward to hearing from you.