Boehner outlines ideas for potential speakership under GOP House control

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) pledged a more modest and transparent approach to lawmaking should he become speaker of the House.

In perhaps the most direct acknowledgement of the positions at stake in this fall's midterm election, Boehner outlined his plans for Republican control of the House.

"Americans have the right to know what's in these massive bills before Congress votes on them," Boehner said in a YouTube forum after yesterday's White House healthcare summit. "And if I become speaker of the House, we're going to run the House differently -- differently from the current majority, and from past Republican ones."

Republicans have spoken openly about their optimism of winning back the House, and Boehner pledged that several Republican complaints against the Democratic control of Congress would make for reforms if the GOP takes control of the House.

"If I become speaker, there will be a 72 hour reading period required before any bill is brought to the floor," he said. "It's part of our congressional transparency initiative."

Boehner also pledged smaller bills with a more modest scope -- a contrast from the longer healthcare and stimulus bills against which Republicans have railed over the past year.

"In addition to that, we don't need to have these really big bills," the minority leader said. "We can keep these bills smaller, more targeted, so that people can actually read them and understand what they're voting on before they come to the floor."

Watch the entire video of the Ohio Republican's responses below:

---