House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said Monday that there is no threat of a sequester as a result of failed negotiations by a 12-member panel tasked with cutting at least $1.2 trillion in savings by Nov. 23.
“I don’t think a sequester will be applicable because I believe [the Joint Select Committee] will reach an agreement before the deadline,” Cantor told reporters during his weekly press conference.
Cantor tiptoed around an onslaught of questions focused on the deficit panel, saying that, having been a part of this summer’s Biden-led negotiations on raising the nation’s debt ceiling, he wanted to avoid adding pressure on the committee.
“I want them to do their work without added pressure from me,” Cantor said.
Although Cantor remains hopeful that a deal will be reached within the next 9 days, the substance coming from inside the “super committee” has indicated otherwise.
The “breakthroughs” that resulted from Democratic concessions to slash entitlements and Republican proposals that put new revenues on the table were diminished before Congress broke for the holiday.