WASHINGTON — The No. 2 Republican in the House says he is still confident that a bipartisan deficit "supercommittee" will be able to reach agreement even though there is little more than a week to go before its deadline.
Majority Leader Eric Cantor said he knows the panel is under great pressure but he believes its members can succeed by Nov. 23.
The supercommittee was created as part of a hard-fought deal between President Barack Obama and lawmakers. The panel is charged with finding at least $1.2 trillion worth of deficit cuts over the coming decade but has been deadlocked over taxes and cuts to benefit programs. Failure would trigger automatic spending cuts to the Pentagon budget and a range of domestic programs.
Cantor declined any other comment on the committee's work.
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