Boehner asks governors for help on economic agenda

Soon-to-be Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) made a move Friday to shore up support from governors to develop an economic plan for the 112th Congress and end "the job-crushing policies coming out of Washington."

In a letter today to Republican Gov. Haley Barbour (Miss.), Boehner asks for input into building a coalition of state leaders to help "our economy get back to creating jobs, stopping out-of-control spending and reducing the size of government, repealing and replacing President Obama’s job-crushing health care law, reforming Congress to make it more accountable to the people, and keeping our nation secure," the letter said. 

"We hope to work with governors in all of these areas, and I ask for your help in identifying specific governors who may be particularly helpful in our efforts," the letter said. 

"We welcome examples from governors of areas where the expansion of the federal government inhibits their ability to govern and we would want to work closely with governors to find solutions to these situations,” Boehner said in the letter.  

Boehner argued that governors banded together in the mid-1990s to pass welfare reform during the Clinton administration and now need a similar partnership. 

"This joint initiative was successful because Republican governors and members of Congress worked together," he said about welfare reform.