DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz released the following statement on Speaker John Boehner’s false attacks on President Obama on CBS this morning:

“House Speaker John Boehner’s attacks on President Obama and the economy are outrageous and false. Coming from a man who has led congressional Republicans as they’ve tried to block President Obama every step of the way and who, with Mitt Romney, has fully endorsed the failed policies of the past, his criticisms are laughable. If Boehner and Romney think the goal is to return to the time when we were losing nearly 800,000 jobs a month and middle-class paychecks were plummeting, that helps explain a lot of what Congress has been doing these past few years under Boehner’s leadership—which is to stand in the way of every possible initiative that could contribute to economic growth or job creation. It might also explain why they’ve backed the Ryan-Romney budget that would end Medicare as we know it to pay for tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires.

“John Boehner’s brief speakership will go down as one of the least effective in history. He’s been whipsawed by the extreme Tea Party faction of his caucus, he’s walked away from historic opportunities to work together to get our fiscal house in order and strengthen our economy, and he’s stood in the way of efforts to create jobs because an improving economy might not be good for Romney’s campaign for president. It’s appropriate that Boehner has endorsed Romney for president—a House speaker with little to show for his effort will be in good company with a man who wants to return to the failed economic policies of the past.”

DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz sharply challenged the Republican field this evening, including Mitt Romney, for pledging to zero out the foreign aid budget, including resources the U.S. provides to Israel to aid in its security.

“I’m aghast that the leading Republican contenders for President tonight, including Mitt Romney, pledged to zero out the foreign aid budget including the traditional and vital support the U.S. has provided the Jewish state of Israel for its security. I cannot think of a more irresponsible, risky or deplorable position towards our most important friend and ally. That Mitt Romney and these candidates would sacrifice the security of the state of Israel for an applause line at a debate and to appeal to the far right wing Tea Party faction of the Republican base, shows that not a single one of them has what it takes to be commander-in-chief.

“It is a moral and security imperative for the U.S. to aid in the security of the state of Israel and to defend it from those who would do it harm. Barack Obama understands that and has made Israel's security a priority; proposing and securing $3 billion in foreign aid to Israel; proposing and securing $205 million in funding for the Iron Dome missile defense system for Israel and authorizing the sale of bunker buster bombs previously denied by former President George W. Bush. Mitt Romney and the rest of the Republican field clearly do not understand the vital need for the U.S. to consistently stand by our friend and ally, Israel and not only when it's politically popular.”