House Majority Leader Eric Cantor says although he does not support tax hikes he would back reforming the tax code and closing loopholes. Cantor also said Thursday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that everybody wants to see America “pay its bills.”
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| John Boehner , Eric Cantor (AP) |
Cantor will be meeting with President Barack Obama this morning to try and work out a deal to raise the debt ceiling. Obama reportedly is willing to put entitlements on the table.
“I’m certainly looking forward to hearing what the president has to say this morning at the White House,” Cantor said. “We’ve always said we want to do what is necessary to try and bring this deficit and debt into balance, because if we can get the fiscal house in order here in Washington, people can start to get back to work at home.
“We’ve got to remember the context within which we are operating here,” he said. “You’ve got unemployment at over 9 percent officially — too many people are out of work right now. We’ve got to focus on the priority here, and that is to get people back to work. And so when the proposal is to raise more revenues, that money doesn’t come out of thin air — that means you are going to take money from people and businesses that you are relying upon to create jobs.”
Cantor said he would support simplifying the tax code.
“I can tell you one thing: We are united as Republicans in saying now is not the time to raise taxes,” he said. “I’ve talked to the Speaker and he is not for increasing taxes.”
Cantor also said the only way to increase revenues is by growing the economy.
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