Cantor Hits the President on Two Fronts on Eve of Meeting

February 10, 2011 05:33


On the day before three House Republican Leaders were scheduled to meet with President Barack Obama at the White House, Majority Leader Eric Cantor attacked the president on two fronts.

The Americano

On the day before three House Republican Leaders were scheduled to meet with President Barack Obama at the White House, Majority Leader Eric Cantor attacked the president on two fronts.

The Virginia Republican said emphatically Tuesday that the House bill funding the federal government through the rest of the year will not include money to implement healthcare reform. He said he expects an amendment to eliminate funding will be offered next week.

According to The Hill, the original version of the legislation won’t include defunding language, but Cantor said he expects an amendment will take care of that by the time the House votes on a bill next week.

“I expect to see one way or another the product coming out of the House to speak to that, to preclude any funding to be used for that,” Cantor said. If the House passes a bill with defunding language in it, that will set up a battle with the Democratic-controlled Senate on a short deadline.

Cantor also criticized the president for his speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Monday.

He said the president implied during his address that businesses should thank the White House for recent actions on taxes and trade by investing in the economy.

“This sort of quid pro quo — that if Washington acts to do whatever it is the president’s proposing, whether it’s reducing corporate rates or passing trade bills, that somehow business owes it to the country to do X, Y, Z — I think that misses the mark,” Cantor said.

Cantor’s accusation came one day before he was scheduled to meet the president at the White House, along with Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and GOP Whip Kevin McCarthy (Calif.).

The Hill said that in his speech to the Chamber, the president said that just as the government has a responsibility to encourage private-sector growth, “businesses also have a responsibility to America.”

He specifically urged companies to “invest in America” — to the tune of $2 trillion — and boost hiring. The president referenced his administration’s support for cutting corporate taxes and enacting trade agreements the business community has advocated.

“What I heard was a sense that somehow business in America needs to respond and act in a way that is somehow grateful for Washington’s acts,” Cantor said. “Washington doesn’t just wave a magic wand and necessarily business creates jobs. That’s not how it works. That’s the whole point here.”

The Hill recalled in its story that Cantor and Obama have never had a particularly warm relationship. When GOP leaders pushed for more tax cuts in the stimulus package shortly after Obama took office in 2009, the president offered a pointed reminder to Cantor about who was setting the agenda, saying, “I won.”

The Americano/Agencies



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