The problems being faced by Baltimore and other big cities are the result of 50 years of failed liberal policies, House Speaker John Boehner said in an interview aired Sunday on
"Meet the Press."
"When you look at the schools in these inner cities, these families are trapped in bad schools that don't provide a real education and look what you get," Boehner told host Chuck Todd in an interview taped Friday. "What we have here is 50 years of liberal policies that have not worked to help the very people we want to help. It's time to look at all these programs and determine what's working and what isn't."
When asked if more government money would help, Boehner replied, "If money was going to solve the education problem, we would have solved it decades ago."
Boehner said he believes there is a national crisis in the relationship between black Americans and the police, as evidenced in protests and riots in Baltimore over the past week in the wake of the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died of a spinal injury after being taken into police custody.
Six Baltimore police officers have been charged in Gray's death.
"Public servants should not violate the law," Boehner said. "If these charges are true, it's outrageous and unacceptable."
He said he supports use of police body cameras, adding that federal police grants already on the books could be used to help finance them.
Turning to healthcare, Boehner said Republicans do not have a Plan B in place should the Supreme Court rule against President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act this June.
He stuck by his criticisms of the ACA, saying that even if an expanding economy has seen more jobs created since its inception, it is still tougher for employers to hire. And the fact that more people are now insured means little since most of them are on Medicaid.
"Giving people Medicaid insurance is almost like giving them nothing," Boehner said. "You can't find a doctor that will see Medicaid patients. So where do they end up? The same place they used to end up: the emergency room."
On the issue of trade authority for the president, Boehner said some Democrats are going to have to join Republicans in order to give Obama the same authority presidents have had for the past 50 years. And he said Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton must encourage her fellow Democrats in Congress to get on board.
"She can't sit on the sidelines and let the president swing in the wind," he said.
Boehner refused to endorse any of the Republicans seeking the White House because he said he is friends with many of them.
"We've got a big field. It will sort itself out over the next year," he said. "Good luck to all of them."
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