Two heavyweight conservative groups are very upset with the budget counteroffer announced by House Republican leaders Monday.
The groups are Heritage Action for America, an affiliate of the Heritage Foundation, and Americans for Prosperity, which is partially funded by the billionaire Koch brothers.
Specifically, the groups think the $800 billion of tax hikes in the GOP plan are too big and that the $1.4 trillion in spending cuts are too small.
“Republicans were re-elected in the House to stop President Obama's agenda, not figure out creative ways to fund it,” Dan Holler, communications director for Heritage Action, told
The Hill.
Meanwhile, Americans for Prosperity president Tim Phillips said in a statement, "The President's proposal and Speaker Boehner's counteroffer fail to seriously deal with the reality of the problems facing the nation. Conservatives are looking for a leader to fight against tax increases, to push back against wasteful government spending, and address the fiscal challenges in a bold way.”
Democrats see the counteroffer as a step forward. The plan represents “act two” in the negotiations between the two parties to avoid the fiscal cliff of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts next year, Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., told Bloomberg. “There will be an act three undoubtedly, and hopefully the distance between the bid and ask is closed,” he said.
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