Hoyer Urges GOP To Meet Dems Halfway Over Budget Proposal

By Anna Cameron

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) pressured Republicans Tuesday to “step up” and compromise with Democrats over a spending plan for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2011.

“They know what they’re against, but they have not provided positive alternatives for what they’re for [or] how to address the critical issues confronting our country,” Hoyer told reporters Tuesday.

Hoyer described the adamancy with which Republicans have stuck to their proposed $100 billion figure as an adherence to “political figures or sums,” rather than a commitment to thoughtful or responsible spending cuts.

Conversely, the Minority Whip noted that Democrats have increased proposed spending cuts from an initial $41 billion to a total of $51.5 billion, an effort that he touted as a “willingness to cut and compromise.”

As a potential government shutdown looms, Hoyer stressed the irresponsibility, inefficiency, and destabilizing effects of continued funding of the government based on two-week extensions.

“We are hopeful that the Republicans will respond tomorrow in a positive fashion, to move us toward what any reasonable person would think is a compromise,” Hoyer said.