Cantor Defends GOP Position In Debt Negotiations

By Philip Bunnell

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) accused President Barack Obama of attacking Republicans “work ethic” one day before he and other GOP leaders are scheduled to meet with President Obama and Congressional leaders at the White House to negotiate raising the debt ceiling.

“We’ve been working,” Cantor responded during a briefing Wednesday, citing the six weeks of negotiations the GOP had with Vice President Biden.  “And for the president to suggest that we’ve not been hard at work,” Cantor continued, “I’m going to tell him tomorrow, come on!”

Cantor also refuted the President’s claim that Republicans had walked out of negotiations over corporate jet entitlements and tax loopholes. The House Leader dismissed the jet issue as “not serious,” and that he would “talk tax loopholes,” but that tax hikes on businesses were the reason the GOP walked.

The Virginia Republican addressed questions over the proposed cuts, saying that they “will demonstrate that we will actually begin to get the fiscal house in order, and that we’re going to change the way this town does business and stop spending money we don’t have.”  Cantor described the cuts as “historic” and necessary.

Responding to a recent report by the Washington Post that showed a sharp increase in income inequality, Cantor defended high-earners.  “Certainly there’s a concern when it comes to these kinds of salaries, but the concern lies with the shareholders of those companies,” said Cantor.  The Majority Leader concluded that it is “important to protect those individuals who are job creators,” and again cautioned against raising taxes in a “sputtering economy.”