Cantor: No More Budget Stopgaps

The Hill reports:

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) raised the stakes in the budget showdown on Capitol Hill Tuesday by ruling out another stopgap funding measure.

“I want to see a long-term CR here,” he said. “We've got bigger things to deal with. Time is up here."

That leaves House and Senate lawmakers and White House officials little more than 10 days to negotiate a long-term continuing resolution to fund the government through the end of the fiscal year in September.

Cantor called out Senate Democratic leaders — and President Obama — during a press availability in his Capitol suite Tuesday afternoon.

"We need to see [Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid and [Sen.] Chuck Schumer get serious,” he said. “We need to see the president get involved.”

The House approved a government funding measure 39 days ago that would cut $61 billion from current spending levels. The Senate failed to pass the House version or a Democratic alternative to cut some $10 billion.

Cantor disputed reports that Senate Democrats and the White House had discussed striking a deal to cut $20 billion more from current spending levels.

“I’m telling you that the nature of progress you’ve been discussing with members on the other side of the Capitol [does] not reflect where I think that the negotiations are,” Cantor said.

He called “far-fetched” a statement he said House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) made earlier in the day that a deal could be struck relatively soon.