Peter Roskam RSS Articles

Washington Post Column: Obama need not wait to change relations with Congress

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:00:00 GMT

David Broder

It was toward the end of President Obama's riveting visit on Jan. 29 with the House Republicans in Baltimore -- a rare 90 minutes of candor on both sides that produced the most fascinating and revealing politics in memory -- when Rep. Peter Roskam of suburban Chicago was called on for a question.

"Oh, Peter is an old friend of mine," Obama said. "Peter and I have had many debates. . . . Peter and I did work together effectively on a whole host of issues."

As I learned on a visit to the congressman's Capitol Hill office last week, when Roskam moved from the Illinois House to the state Senate in 2000, he found Obama already serving there. They were both assigned to the Judiciary Committee and, after taking each other's measure in a sharp debate on health care, they collaborated on death penalty reform, ethics legislation and other issues.

"You took on some big things," Roskam reminded the president. "One of the keys was you rolled your sleeves up, you worked with the other party and ultimately you were able to make the deal." By contrast, he continued, over the past year House Republicans have felt that "they've really been stiff-armed by Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi. Now, I know you're not in charge of that chamber, but there really is this dynamic of, frankly, being shut out. . . . I think all of us want to hit the reset button on 2009. How do we move forward?"

This was the kind of straight-talk question that made the session at the GOP House retreat so special. Obama responded frankly and well. Rhetoric is a problem on both sides, he said, because "what we say about each other sometimes . . . boxes us in, in ways that make it difficult for us to work together. . . . So just a tone of civility instead of slash-and-burn would be helpful."

In hopes of improving communication, Obama promised to "bring Republican and Democratic leadership together on a more regular basis with me," and the first of those monthly meetings with Senate and House leaders of both parties is scheduled for this week.

And in response to Roskam's specific question, the president pledged to be "talking more about trade this year," which he did last week, though he still has not pushed Congress to ratify the trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea that were negotiated by his predecessor.

The session in Baltimore, which followed the shock of the Democrats losing the Kennedy seat in Massachusetts, has produced some signs of a changed tone in Washington. But to my surprise, Roskam told me that he has had no word from anyone in the White House since his overture to Obama.

This tells me that, even after Baltimore, the president and his people may not realize the degree to which Republican frustration with Pelosi's management of the House has created opportunities for Obama -- if he is willing to engage as directly as he did in his Illinois Senate days.

Roskam recounted to me the story of two of his own minor amendments to the health-care bill that were rejected by his Ways and Means Committee along with dozens of others he deemed reasonable and bipartisan. That is a common experience for Republicans and a source of grievance.

"It's really up to Obama," Roskam said. "He's at a crossroads. My question to him was not an admonition. It was an invitation" to govern differently in this second year.

Looking at the campaigns in Massachusetts and Illinois, the first two states to vote this year, it is clear as can be that voters are trying desperately to figure out how to change the dynamics of Washington. They will support candidates in either party who offer hope of stifling the poisonous partisanship and addressing the real-world problems of jobs, deficits and health care.

But Obama does not have to wait for the voters to change Congress -- which they will do, come November. He can, as his friend from Springfield days reminded him, start that change now by being himself.

New York Times: Obama’s Balancing Act on U.S. Trade Policies

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

By JOHN HARWOOD

Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania challenged President Obama last week on behalf of steel workers, and helped underscore the administration’s ambivalence about trade.

During a public meeting between the president and Senate Democrats, Mr. Specter asked whether Mr. Obama would upend existing agreements with China in response to trade policies in Beijing that he said amounted to “international banditry.”

“Arlen, I would not,” the president replied. “What I don’t want is for us as a country, or as a party, to shy away from the prospects for international competition.”

But Mr. Obama also noted his “much tougher” line than his Republican predecessor on enforcing existing trade agreements — including slapping tariffs on imported Chinese tires.

It is little wonder that Mr. Obama’s message on trade has gotten muddled.

Like every president of the last generation, he has maintained the rhetorical embrace of free trade. But even as he insists that Washington cannot afford to wait for a new health care system, energy policy or set of Wall Street regulations, Mr. Obama has been willing to wait on asking Congress to approve pending trade deals.

Given the opposition from his labor union allies, that stance conserves Mr. Obama’s political capital at a time when so many other priorities hang in the balance on Capitol Hill.

But it also undercuts Mr. Obama’s top priority: reducing the nation’s 9.7 percent unemployment rate. And as a result, even some fellow Democrats believe that Mr. Obama is leaving new jobs on the table.

Contrasting Clinton

The last Democrat in the Oval Office before Mr. Obama made trade the center of his economic agenda: Bill Clinton, in his first year in office, bucked union opposition to win passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement, with help from Congressional Republicans.

Mr. Obama, by contrast, has sent mixed signals since the 2008 Democratic primaries. While candidate Obama courted blue-collar votes by criticizing Nafta, his economic adviser Austan Goolsbee was depicted in a Canadian official’s government memorandum as having privately ascribed such rhetoric to political maneuvering.

As president, Mr. Obama has not moved to renegotiate Nafta. The administration recently tempered the impact of “Buy America” provisions in last year’s economic stimulus legislation by agreeing to treat Canadian companies the same as American ones on some projects.

And in his State of the Union address, Mr. Obama embraced a goal espoused by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce: doubling American exports in the next five years, which the administration says would create two million jobs.

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke last week laid out details of the initiative, including promotional, logistical and financing help for small and medium businesses. “A positive sign,” said Myron Brilliant, a trade analyst at the chamber.

Yet the administration has still not resolved the longstanding dispute that is keeping long-haul Mexican trucks out of the United States, despite what is called for by Nafta. The Teamsters union has resisted that step, on safety grounds.

Nor has Mr. Obama asked Congress to ratify three trade agreements negotiated during the Bush administration, with Colombia, Panama and South Korea. His negotiators continue to seek more concessions — in the case of South Korea, better terms for American auto companies.

“The administration is not interested in putting forth an agreement that’s unfair to U.S. companies,” Mr. Locke said in an interview.

Pressure All Around

Mr. Obama was also pressed on trade in his recent public meeting with House Republicans — but from the opposite direction. Representative Peter Roskam of Illinois blamed Democratic resistance in Congress for blocking the “no-cost job creation” that those pending trade deals would bring, and asked the president whether he would work with Republicans to push those deals through.

“You’re right, there are conflicts within and fissures within the Democratic Party,” Mr. Obama acknowledged. But he remained vague on next steps.

If that tentativeness avoids a fight with organized labor, it may also conflict with Mr. Obama’s larger economic goals.

Unless the South Korea, Panama and Colombia trade deals are implemented, “the president will have no hope at all of keeping his promise to create two million new jobs,” said Jim Bacchus, a trade lawyer, former Democratic congressman from Florida and onetime World Trade Organization official.

Chamber officials calculated that failure to implement those agreements would cost the economy 383,400 jobs. But they remained hopeful that, eventually, the White House would move forward rather than abandon them.

“I think the administration will wait until the political environment is a little bit better, which means after the midterms,” said Mr. Brilliant, the chamber trade analyst. “The words are encouraging, but we need action.”

Roskam And Shimkus Call on Sen. Durbin and Treasurer Giannoulias to Join Bipartisan Wave of Opposition to Creating Guantanamo Illinois

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Illinois Congressmen Peter Roskam and John Shimkus released the following joint statement calling on Sen. Dick Durbin and Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias to join the bipartisan wave of opposition to the controversial plan to move Guantanamo to Illinois:

“We urge both Sen. Durbin and Treasurer Giannoulias to stand on the side of the people of Illinois and finally oppose moving Guantanamo Bay Prison to Illinois. Given the recent attempted Christmas Day terrorist attack on another Midwestern state, the recent decision to relocate Khalid Sheikh Mohammad’s trial from New York, and the growing bipartisan wave of opposition to this misguided effort, the way forward is clear.

Creating Guantanamo Illinois will only further threaten our security, regionally and nationally, and public opposition to the plan has been widespread and bipartisan.

When even the White House recognizes creating Guantanamo Illinois is a mistake that must now be reconsidered, we urge Sen. Durbin and Treasurer Giannoulias recognize good judgment, recant their support and join the bipartisan opposition to this controversial plan.”

Note:

White House Gave Treasurer Giannoulias NSC Briefing on Transfer:

On November 20, 2009, Illinois state Treasurer Giannoulias disclosed to a Chicago area radio station that he had received a briefing from the Obama Administration’s National Security Council on the potential move to Illinois, prior to Republican members of Congress receiving the same briefing. Listen to that disclosure here.

White House Reconsidering Transfer According to Majority Leader Hoyer (D-Md):

“I think the administration realizes that this is a difficult issue. And I think that they are assessing where they are and where they think we ought to be, and I think that’s appropriate and I look forward to discussing it with them.” (Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md), February 2nd)

Democrat Rep. Melissa Bean (IL-08) opposes the move:

“I remain opposed to transferring Guantanamo detainees to Illinois, or anywhere in the U.S., while awaiting more detailed information on what’s being proposed, including potential security threats and plans for resolving detainees’ final status. As of yet, I have seen neither." (Rep. Melissa Bean, D-IL, November 18th)

Democrat Rep. Debbie Halvorson (IL-11) opposes the move:

“I am not yet convinced such a transfer would be in the best interests of our national security. I would need to see a plan that guarantees the safety of Americans and that this transfer is in the best interests of the local community, state, and country before I could support this proposal.” (Rep. Debbie Halvorson, D-IL, November 19th)

Roskam on The Highest Deficit Inducing Budget Proposal Ever

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congressman Peter Roskam (R-Ill.), Deputy Whip and member of the Ways & Means Committee, issued the following statement after the Obama Administration released their FY 2011 budget proposal, a record $3.8 trillion proposal that will raise the budget deficit to $1.6 trillion:

“After a year of misplaced priorities and record runaway spending, Democrats appear committed to doubling down on record taxes, record spending, record borrowing, and record debt, but still are resistant to truly embracing pro-growth policies that will create jobs and get our economy back on track. With 11.1% unemployment in Illinois, my constituents are in serious need of job creation and a return to fiscal sanity. What this budget offers is another “stimulus” program like the first failed stimulus, and will more than double the debt in five years and triple it in less than 10 years.

I appreciate President Obama’s recognition that we must get our fiscal house in order. Unfortunately, the Administration’s projected spending freeze “savings” will be wiped out four times over just by the increases in interest payments to carry our unsustainable debt. With such limited fig-leaf gestures, we’ll contribute only a drop in the bucket to reducing our massive debt our kids and grandkids will have to pay off.

We simply can’t afford another year of misplaced priorities, record wasteful spending and unyielding attempts to increase taxes; we need jobs and a commitment to stop Washington’s out of control spending.”

Quick Facts & Figures About the Obama Administration’s Budget Proposal:

13% Freeze- The Obama Administration’s proposed “spending freeze” will only apply to 13% of the budget.

$840 Billion Debt Interest Payments – Under the budget proposal, the interest on the debt would more than quadruple to $840 billion annually by 2020, compared to $188 billion paid in debt interest payments.

$1.6 Trillion Deficit – The proposed budget will boost the deficit to a record $1.6 trillion this year, 10.6% of GDP

$2 Trillion in Taxes– By the Administration’s own estimates, their proposed budget will increase taxes by more than $2 trillion over 10 years

$3.8 Trillion Record Spending– The proposed $3.8 trillion budget for 2011 is the highest ever.

All figures courtesy of the House Committee on the Budget.

Roskam on Stunning Admission That White House is Reconsidering Moving Guantanamo to Illinois

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Statement from Congressman Peter Roskam after Majority Leader Hoyer’s stunning admission that moving Guantanamo to Illinois is a mistake and the White House is re-thinking this flawed strategy:

“I'm pleased to see that both Leader Hoyer and the White House are recognizing that moving Guantanamo is a mistake and are subsequently reconsidering their flawed plan. The opposition to this controversial move has been widespread, broad based and well reasoned. While they have ignored good reason for months now, this presents Democrats in Illinois and around the country a new opportunity to listen to common sense and oppose this controversial move that won’t make us any safer.”

Earlier today, Politico published this story:

Steny Hoyer: White House rethinking Guantanamo transfers
Politico
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0210/32396.html
The second-ranking House Democrat signaled Tuesday that the White House is reconsidering a plan to move Guantanamo detainees to a prison in northwest Illinois.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said he agrees that the Obama administration should reassess the plan to move terrorist suspects from the Cuba military base to Thomson Correctional Facility in the state’s northwest corner.
“I think the administration realizes that this is a difficult issue,” Hoyer said, speaking at his weekly meeting with Capitol Hill reporters. “And I think that they are assessing where they are and where they think we ought to be, and I think that’s appropriate and I look forward to discussing it with them.”
Congress would have to appropriate such funds, which could prove a stumbling block for the White House plans. Republicans have been largely unified in opposition to the prison move, and Democrats such as Illinois Rep. Melissa Bean have joined along.
Hoyer’s surprising revelation comes at a time when the White House has been reconsidering major terrorism decisions. News surfaced last week that the White House was abandoning plans to try alleged Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in a New York City courtroom.

Roskam Hosts Local Information Session On Aid to Victims of the Haitian Earthquake

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

WASHINGTON, D.C - Today, Congressman Peter Roskam hosted an information session for constituents with the American Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity present to answer questions and foster local efforts for ongoing disaster relief in Haiti. Roskam and local leadership were on hand to provide information and share news about the situation on the ground and how to help moving forward.

“Many families and charity organizations throughout Illinois have invested considerable time and resources to improve health, education and adoption efforts in Haiti,” said Congressman Peter Roskam. “The people of Haiti desperately need the help of Americans and today’s information session was valuable in educating folks on how these efforts are progressing and how they can help moving forward.”

“Habitat for Humanity has been hard at work in Haiti for 26 years and is currently using its local expertise to provide sustainable shelter solutions for low-income families affected by the earthquake,” said Sarah Brachle, Executive Director of DuPage Habitat for Humanity. “Today’s information session hosted by Congressman Roskam was a valuable event for local residents to learn more about how to assist in the relief effort.”

“Recent donations to the American Red Cross have demonstrated how generous the American people truly are,” said Jackie Mitchell, Director of Marketing of the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago. “Hundreds of thousands of Haitians have been provided with the basic necessities of food, clean drinking water and shelter materials because of these donations. Today’s event hosted by Congressman Roskam provided important information to the public, enabling them to stay informed on the changing situation on the ground and continue to rally friends, family and neighbors around relief efforts in Haiti.”

The relief effort in Haiti has created an almost overwhelming response from tens of thousands of Illinoisans and numerous organizations at the federal and local level. By bringing representatives of relief organizations and local citizens together under one roof, they were able to detail on-going humanitarian efforts and the avenues for involvement in the rebuilding and recovery effort. The event was held at Medinah Banquets in Addison Illinois.

New York Times: Camus Fired Up

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

By Maureen Dowd

It began as a bit of partisan gamesmanship and ended, surprisingly, as illuminating political theater.

White House advisers thought that if they asked that cameras and reporters be allowed in for the usually closed Q. and A. with the president at the annual retreat of House Republicans, the Republicans might say no and look obstructionist.

But the Republicans realized what the White House was up to, got irritated and opened up the exchange in Baltimore to show they weren’t scared of the smart, facile and newly warmblooded Barack Obama.

And during the next hour and a half, our government did not look quite so lame.

Obama is always at his best when his back is against the wall, and he is perversely content when he has the challenge of the lion’s den.

He may lapse back into his Camus coma at any moment. But on Friday he dropped the diffident debutante act and offered, as he did at the State of the Union, some welcome gumption.

“You know,” he said, halfway through his sparring session with Republicans, “I’m having fun.”

When he was running for president, John McCain said that if he won, he would regularly take questions in the peppering style of the British prime minister in the House of Commons.

But it was Obama who ended up doing just such a Ping-Pong session, standing in a hotel ballroom and giving as good he got, to-ing and fro-ing in a far more vivid way than in the presidential debates.

The president chided his audience for casting his health care plan as a “Bolshevik plot” and for telling folks back home that he’s “doing all kinds of crazy stuff that’s going to destroy America.” But Obama also acknowledged that the Republicans have some good ideas, and that, as it turned out, was what they yearned to hear.

In the end, the Republicans may well go back to being inflexibly inflexible with this president, but for a moment in time, each side realized that the other side had something to say. It was, as The Times’s reporters Peter Baker and Carl Hulse called it, a televised marriage-therapy session “as each side vented grievances pent up after a year of partisan gridlock.”

The Utah Republican Jason Chaffetz picked up on the president’s line in the State of the Union about “a deficit of trust.”

“We didn’t create this mess, but we are here to help clean it up,” the freshman member said, before ticking off a litany of things that have soured many Americans on the president who came in trailing fairy dust.

“When you stood up before the American people multiple times and said you would broadcast the health care debates on C-Span, you didn’t,” he said.

And another good one: “You said you weren’t going to allow lobbyists in the senior-most positions within your administration, and yet you did.”

And another: “You said you’d go line by line through the health care bill. And there were six of us, including Dr. Phil Roe, who sent you a letter and said we would like to take you up on that offer. ... We never got a call.”

And this rousing finale: “And when you said in the House of Representatives that you were going to tackle earmarks and in fact you didn’t want to have any earmarks in any of your bills, I jumped out of my seat and applauded you.”

But that was another disappointment.

Obama hedged on a technicality on the health care question, noting that “overwhelmingly the majority of it actually was on C-Span because it was taking place in Congressional hearings in which you guys were participating.”

When Peter Roskam of Illinois complained that they’d been “stiff-armed” by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the president promised to bring the Republican and Democratic House leadership together for more play dates.

In a way, it was the sort of civic affairs master class that this college-bowl president had wanted from the beginning, before it began to look like W., Cheney and Rove had truly smashed bipartisanship.

But he didn’t hesitate to give Jeb Hensarling a smack-down when the rabid ideologue from Texas asked if the president’s new budget, “like your old budget,” would “triple the national debt.”

Obama crisply told “Jim,” inadvertently (perhaps) mixing up Jeb’s name, “It’s very hard to have the kind of bipartisan work that we’re going to do, because the whole question was structured as a talking point for running a campaign.” Then the president offered a quick math lesson on what Republicans never admit: that it was W. and the Republican Congress who ran up much of our $12 trillion debt and left us pawning our family jewels to the Chinese.

Obama’s advisers must wish they could do this every week for the cameras. It was a lot more elucidating than Joe Wilson shouting, “You lie!”

AP: In face-to-face meeting, Obama urges Republicans to work with him on taxes, health, budget

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (CP) –

In a sometimes barbed face-to-face encounter, President Barack Obama chastised Republican lawmakers Friday for opposing him on health care, economic stimulus and other major issues.

Republicans pushed back on taxes and spending, and accused Obama of not taking their ideas seriously.

Obama, attending the House Republicans' retreat in Baltimore, began with conciliatory remarks but soon became more pointed. He said a Republican-driven "politics of no" was blocking action on bills that could help Americans obtain jobs and health care.

He said major elements of the bills were based on proposals from former lawmakers in the political middle, including some Republicans.

"That's not a radical bunch, but if you were to listen to the debate ... you'd think this was some Bolshevik plot." Obama's most strident critics have accused him of supporting what they consider socialist policies they say would lead to government control of personal health care decisions.

Obama's meeting with the Republicans came two days after he appealed in his State of the Union speech for an end to Washington's sharp partisan rift.

But Republicans may have little incentive to co-operate with Obama. They have political momentum after last week's Massachusetts special election, in which they captured the Senate seat long held by a Democrat, the late Edward M. Kennedy. They view that vote as a referendum on Obama's policies, giving them hope for big gains in November congressional elections.

The Republicans sat attentively throughout Obama's speech and the discussion. There was some grumbling when he remarked - after being pressed about closed-door health care negotiations - that most of the legislation was developed in congressional committees in front of television cameras.

"That was a messy process," he acknowledged.

Several Republicans challenged Obama with lengthy complaints and sharp questions.

"What should we tell our constituents who know that Republicans have offered positive solutions" for health care, "and yet continue to hear out of the administration that we've offered nothing?" asked Republican Rep. Tom Price.

Obama showed little sympathy, disputing Price's claim that a Republican plan would cover nearly all Americans without raising taxes.

"That's just not true," said Obama. He called such claims "boilerplate" meant to score political points.

Republican Rep. Peter Roskam complained that some House Democrats have "stiff-armed" their Republican colleagues, leaving them out of the decision-making process. Obama says both sides are to blame for a "sour climate on Capitol Hill" and he's willing to help bring Republican and Democratic leaders together.

Obama also defended his economic stimulus plan, saying some in the audience have attended ribbon-cutting ceremonies for projects funded by the stimulus package they voted against. Obama also questioned why Republicans have overwhelmingly opposed his tax-cut policies, which he said have benefited 95 per cent of American families.

"The notion that this was a radical package is just not true," Obama said. "I am not an ideologue."

The president acknowledged that Republicans have joined Democrats in some efforts, such as sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan. But he said he was disappointed and perplexed by virtually unanimous Republican opposition to other programs, such as the $787 billion economic stimulus bill enacted a year ago.

He also noted overwhelming Republican opposition to his plan to overhaul the U.S. health care system, a proposal that is now in legislative peril. Obama said he would gladly look at better ideas, but he urged Republicans to acknowledge the difficulties that many Americans face in obtaining good health care.

Obama said it makes ideological sense for Democrats and Republicans to work together on some issues such as charging fees to banks that benefited from a federal bailout, temporarily freezing some government spending, keeping jobs from being exported and paying for new government programs when they are created.

Republicans have sharply criticized Obama's approach to most of these issues.

Associated Press writers Stephen Ohlemacher and Charles Babington contributed to this report.

Roskam Asks Former Colleague Obama: Where is the Bipartisanship You Had in Illinois?

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Today, Congressman Peter Roskam asked his long-time former colleague in the Illinois Senate, President Barack Obama, where is the bipartisanship you had in Illinois? After Speaker Pelosi “stiff-armed” Republicans, “are you willing to work with us?”

Where is the Bipartisanship You Had in Illinois?

President Obama: “Oh Peter Roskam is an old friend of mine… Peter and I have had many debates.”
Rep. Peter Roskam: “Mr. President, I heard echoes today of the State Senator that I served with in Springfield…You took on some big things. One of the keys was, you rolled your sleeves up, you worked with the other party, and ultimately, you were able to make the deal. Now here’s an observation. Over the past year, in my view, that attribute hasn’t been in full bloom.”

Pelosi “stiff-armed” Republicans

Roskam: “House Republicans sincerely want to come be a part of this national conversation towards solutions, but they’ve really been stiff-armed by Speaker Pelosi. Now I know you’re not in charge of that chamber, but there really is this dynamic of frankly being shut out.”

“Are You Willing to Work With Us?”

Roskam: “So here’s the question, moving forward, and I think all of us want to hit the reset button on 2009, how do we move forward, and on the job creation piece in particular, Are you willing to work with us?...”

Join the conversation about this interaction on Twitter here.

Watch the video of Roskam’s question and President Obama’s answer here.

Read the full transcript of Roskam’s question here:

Rep. Mike Pence: The next question is from Peter Roskam from the great state of Illinois

President Obama: Oh Peter Roskam is an old friend of mine.

Rep. Peter Roskam: Hey Mr. President.
Obama: Peter and I have had many debates.
Roskam: Well, this won’t be one. Mr. President, I heard echoes today of the State Senator that I served with in Springfield, and there was an attribute and a characteristic that you had that I think served you well there. You took on some very controversial subjects—death penalty reform. You and I, we negotiated on that.

Obama: We worked on that, yep.
Roskam: You took on ethics reform. You took on some big things. One of the keys was, you rolled your sleeves up, you worked with the other party, and ultimately, you were able to make the deal.

Now here’s an observation. Over the past year, in my view, that attribute hasn’t been in full bloom. And by that I mean, you’ve gotten this subtext of House Republicans sincerely want to come be a part of this national conversation towards solutions, but they’ve really been stiff armed by Speaker Pelosi.

Now I know you’re not in charge of that chamber, but there really is this dynamic of frankly being shut out. When John Boehner and Eric Cantor presented last February to you some substantive job creation, our stimulus alternative, the attack machine began to marginalize Eric--and we can all look at the articles—as “Mr. No”, and there was this pretty dark story ultimately, that wasn’t productive and wasn’t within this sort of framework that you’re articulating today.

So here’s the question, moving forward, and I think all of us want to hit the reset button on 2009, how do we move forward, and on the job creation piece in particular, you mentioned Columbia, you mentioned Panama, you mentioned South Korea. Are you willing to work with us, for example, to make sure those Free Trade Agreements get called? That’s no cost job creation, and ultimately, as you’re interacting with world leaders, that’s got to put more arrows in your quiver and it’s a very powerful tool for us.

But the obstacle is, frankly, the politics within the Democratic caucus.

Roskam to President Obama: Work With Us to Increase Export of American Made Goods and Services

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Washington, D.C – Today, at the House GOP retreat, Ways and Means Committee Member Peter Roskam asked President Obama to work with Republicans to sign pending Free Trade Agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea.

According to the President’s own estimates, increasing US exports by just 1 percent – something the pending trade agreements would accomplish – could create as many as 250,000 jobs for American workers.

Roskam: Are You Willing to Work With Us On No Cost Job Creation?

Rep. Peter Roskam: “So here’s the question, moving forward, and I think all of us want to hit the reset button on 2009, how do we move forward, and on the job creation piece in particular, you mentioned Columbia, you mentioned Panama, you mentioned South Korea. Are you willing to work with us, for example, to make sure those Free Trade Agreements get called? That’s no cost job creation, and ultimately, as you’re interacting with world leaders, that’s got to put more arrows in your quiver and it’s a very powerful tool for us. But the obstacle is, frankly, the politics within the Democratic caucus.”

President Obama: Democrat Internal Politics Holding Back Trade

President Obama: “On the specific issue of trade, you’re right, there are conflicts within, and fissures within the Democratic party…”
Obama Acknowledges the Value of Having Passed Free Trade Earlier

President Obama: “You are absolutely right though, Peter, when you say that South Korea is a great ally of ours. When I visited there, there is no country that is more committed to friendship on a whole range of fronts, than South Korea. What is also true is that the European Union is about to sign a trade agreement with South Korea. Which means right at the moment when they start opening up their markets, the Europeans might get in there before we do. So we’ve got to make sure that we seize these opportunities. I will be talking more about trade this year.”

WIND AM 560 “Big John & Cisco” Show

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Big John and Cisco talk to Congressman Peter Roskam about earmarks and why Congresspeople use military jets.

WLS AM 890 "Don Wade & Roma Show"

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Congressman Peter Roskam joined Don Wade and Roma to explain why the federal government would even talk about a cap-and-trade system right now in an economic crisis. Is there anything that won't rise in price if a cap-and-trade system came into place? Should we be concerned about Barack Obama's budget proposal? And will Rod Blagojevich's book be a corruption 101 lesson to others in politics?

WIND AM 560 “Big John & Cisco” Show

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 05:00:00 GMT

John and Cisco talked to Congressman Peter Roskam in the studio about the lack of bipartisanship, why he and others do not support the stimulus package, and the direction of the GOP.

Mancow's Morning Madhouse

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Congressman Peter Roskam joined Eric “Mancow” Muller to discuss the economic stimulus bill.

WTAM 1100 Cleveland

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Congressman Peter Roskam joins Bill Scooter on WTAM Cleveland to talk about the very latest developments with the economic stimulus package, egregious wasteful spending and how Congress could have done better.

WLS AM 890 "Don Wade & Roma Show"

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Congressman Peter Roskam joined Don Wade and Roma to give you the inside story on the controversy with Barack Obama's nominees and with the federal stimulus package. What is the Barack Obama standard and is he sticking to it? Should he be setting such high standards and then turning around and handing out waivers? Was Michael Steele a good pick to head the Republican National Committee? Is he just what the party needed? Plus, will Springfield sneak a gas tax on Illinoisans? How will that hurt the state of Illinois?

WIND AM 560 “Big John & Cisco” Show

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Big John and Cisco talk to Congressman Peter Roskam about why he and the rest of the Republicans voted against the stimulus bill, and what damage is expected.

WBBM 780 AM NewsRadio

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Congressman Peter Roskam talks to WBBM NewsRadio about his meeting with President Barack Obama and comments on the proposed $825 billion spending bill currently being debated in Congress.

The Michael Reagan Show

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Congressman Peter J. Roskam joined Michael Reagan, son of the late-President Ronald Reagan, to talk about the inauguration of President Barack Obama, the proposed stimulus package and the legacy of President George Bush.

WIND AM 560 “Big John & Cisco” Show

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Big John and Cisco ask Congressman Peter Roskam if he wants to run for Senate, what he thinks about the Dems' infighting, and what he would ask Hillary Clinton at her hearing.