Boehner: Bush tax cuts didn't lead to the deficit

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Thursday defended tax cuts enacted under President George W. Bush, saying they did not lead to the deficit that currently confronts the country. 

"It's not the marginal tax rates ... that's not what led to the budget deficit," he told reporters, adding, "The revenue problem we have today is a result of what happened in the economic collapse some 18 months ago." 

In January 2001, before the Bush tax cuts were enacted, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected annual budget surpluses of approximately $800 billion between 2009 and 2012. The CBO now projects a $1.2 trillion annual deficit for those years and has also stated that the Bush tax cuts contributed to the budget deficit.

Boehner on Thursday blamed budget shortfalls on increased spending, which he says is "scaring the hell out of the American people." 

He also said that slashing marginal tax rates has actually buoyed revenue levels.

"We've seen over the last 30 years that lower marginal tax rates have led to a growing economy, more employment and more people paying taxes," he said. 

During the Bush administration the country netted the creation of 1 million jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The low job figure was a direct result of the financial crisis the country was entering when Bush left office. But experts have claimed that job creation was anemic under Bush when compared to other two-term presidents.