WASHINGTON — In another ominous sign of new political gridlock developing in Washington, House Republican leaders took a hard line Sunday on compromising with President Barack Obama on extending tax cuts that are due to expire at the end of this year.
“I really want to see that we can come together and agree upon the notion that Washington doesn’t need more revenues right now,” Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the No. 2 House Republican, said on “Fox News Sunday.” “And to sit here and say we’re just going to go about halfway, or we’re going to send a signal that it’s going to be uncertain for job creators and investors to put capital to work, that’s exactly what we don’t need right now.”
Obama has proposed permanently extending tax cuts for American households making less than $250,000 a year, but he has argued that the country cannot afford to extend those cuts for the wealthiest Americans.
The president repeated that proposal in his weekly address over the weekend.
“At a time when we are going to ask folks across the board to make such difficult sacrifices, I don’t see how we can afford to borrow an additional $700 billion from other countries to make all the Bush tax cuts permanent, even for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans,” he said.
Republicans say extending the tax cuts for everyone is critical at a time of economic weakness in the country.
Cantor on Sunday said Republicans would not go along with what he said was Obama’s “expansive liberal agenda.” And, also appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who is in line to chair the House Budget Committee next year, said Republicans will be looking ahead to 2012 to expand their majorities and fully repeal the new health care law.
