Michael Petruzzelli
, National Council for Behavioral Health
Speaker of the House John Boehner Announces His Retirement
On Friday, Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) announced his intentions to retire from Congress at the end of October. The news shocked the political world and immediately sparked a race for Republican leadership positions in the House of Representatives. As promised on the day of his announcement, the Speaker oversaw the approval of a continuing resolution on Wednesday, funding the government through December 11.
Speaker Boehner first arrived in Congress in 1991. He quickly moved up the ranks of Republican leadership, ultimately taking the Speaker’s gavel in 2010. The Speaker made clear his intentions to retire in 2014, but reconsidered after former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor lost his primary re-election in June of that year.
In March, Speaker Boehner led one of the most important legislative accomplishments of the 114th Congress, passing permanent physician payment reform in Medicare. This success, achieved in tandem with Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), permanently repealed the complex Medicare physician payment formula – the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula – and replace it with one that links reimbursement to the quality of care provided.