House Majority Leader Eric Cantor swung through Atlanta on Tuesday and expressed optimism that a deficit-reduction deal could be reached in Congress this year, especially under threats of major defense spending cuts.
At the same time, the Republican congressman criticized President Obama’s plan to create jobs through stimulus spending. And he called for the passage of a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution, something the Obama administration has opposed.
“We also need to put Washington on a budget,” Cantor, of Virginia, said during a brief news conference at the state Republican Party headquarters in Atlanta. “It is high time for us to be able to do that so that people, businesses and the next generation can look to a much more financially secure future.”
Georgia’s eight Republican congressman joined Cantor in Atlanta, signaling their support for the balanced budget amendment.
Critics say such a measure -- which would essentially require that the government not spend more money than it collects – is unnecessary and would reduce the government’s flexibility with its finances. They argue Congress should be able to control spending without amending the Constitution.
“We don’t need a constitutional amendment to do our jobs,” President Barack Obama said in July. “The Constitution already tells us to do our jobs -- and to make sure that the government is living within its means and making responsible choices.”
The legislation Congress passed last month to address the debt crisis requires both the House and Senate to vote on a balanced budget amendment. Passage requires approval by two-thirds of each chamber and three-quarters of state legislatures. Cantor noted that one such measure almost passed Congress in 1995 before falling short by one vote in the Senate.
Also Tuesday, Cantor criticized Obama’s plan to help revive the nation’s economy, the American Jobs Act.
“He is going to many Republican districts and I hope that he hears what we all hear that people don’t want to see their taxes raised,” Cantor said. ““Stimulus programs are not what we need right now. We need programs geared toward the private sector and how we make it easier for small businesses to operate and grow.”
At the same time, Cantor suggested a deficit-cutting deal is within reach this year.
“There is a lot of talk about what may or may not be possible in the next two months,” he said, “but I do think the ability to achieve $1.4 trillion in cuts and savings can be accomplished.”
The automatic cuts that would occur in defense spending if a deal is not reached, Cantor said, are “unacceptable to a lot of us who believe in a national security priority.”
Also in Atlanta on Tuesday, U.S. Rep. John Barrow, of Savannah, whom Republicans have marked for elimination next year, said the week’s threatened shutdown of the federal government – the third this year – is evidence that Congress’ “super committee” is unlikely to come up with a grand bargain to begin reducing the $14 trillion federal debt.
Barrow says he is a fan of the effort by U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and his Gang of Six effort to push for something more than the minimum $1.5 trillion, 10-year reduction that 12 members of the House and Senate have been asked to reach by Thanksgiving.
“I think something like that would be good for our country if we could do that. It would create a sense on the part of the folks who make up the real economy that we’ve set the nation on a course of eventual recovery,” Barrow said.
“That’s the direction that Senator Chambliss is trying to take us… They left it open to the super committee to go big. But the likelihood of them doing that is very small.”
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