Eric Cantor

Mr. CANTOR

Mr. CANTOR. I yield.

Mr. CANTOR. I thank the gentleman for that. Still I would say that the Republican view is we have consistently supported this President in his efforts in Afghanistan as he has listened to the commanders on the ground to determine the focus and future of our presence there in terms of protecting our troops and the U.S. interests there. So I imagine my friend from Maryland, knowing his position on these things, agrees with that. I would like to know, Mr. Speaker, whether there will be an all-out push to make this some type of partisan issue. Perhaps the gentleman could shed some light on his position on this bill that is being brought forward next week. And I yield.

Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman. I look forward to joining him in opposition to the resolution he is bringing to the floor. Mr. Speaker, if I could ask the gentleman to give us, in the House, an update on when he expects the budget resolution to come to the floor. And I yield.

Mr. CANTOR. I thank the gentleman. Mr. Speaker, the President has asked Congress--in fact yesterday-- that the majority here consider using the reconciliation process to pass this health care bill. I would like to ask the gentleman, Mr. Speaker, is it his intention and the Speaker's intention to adhere to the President's request and actually use the reconciliation process? And I yield.

Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for that and would say that nothing compares to the use of or suggested use of reconciliation then as to now with this bill. I would say that there was, in the main, bipartisan support and, frankly, support on the part of the people of this country for what was being done through reconciliation in those instances. I would like to turn the gentleman's attention, Mr. Speaker, to a question that I have regarding statements that were made as late as September of 2007 when then-Candidate Obama said, ``This is an area where we're going to have to have a 60 percent majority in the Senate and in the House in order to actually get a bill to my desk. We're going to have to have a majority to get a bill to my desk that is not just a 50-plus-1 majority'' said then-Senator Obama. ``You've got to break out of what I call the sort of 50-plus-1 pattern of Presidential politics. Maybe you eke out a victory with 50 plus 1, but you can't govern. You know, you get Air Force One and a lot of nice perks as President, but you can't, you can't deliver on health. We're not going to pass universal health care with a 50-plus-1 strategy.'' That later quote, again, was the next month in October. So I'm having difficulty understanding, Mr. Speaker, why now the President and the majority seem to have done a 180 when it comes to using reconciliation with a $1 trillion bill that could very well alter one-sixth of our economy. And I yield.

Mr. CANTOR. I thank the gentleman. I don't know if the gentleman is saying, Mr. Speaker, that maybe the President was wrong when he spoke about not using this process; but I do know, Mr. Speaker, that 70-something percent of the American people don't like this health care bill. I think the gentleman is correct, Mr. Speaker, that all of us care about doing something positive for health care. Republicans care about health care. We went to that forum with our ideas. The public began to see for 7 hours that there were very different approaches to how we are going to deal with health care. We said if we can stop the overhaul, stop the $1 trillion attempt to lead us to a path from government getting in the way of decision-making between patients and their doctors, if we can set that aside, there could be some things that we could work on much more modest and focused in terms of cost control. Once we reduce cost, people can have access. More people can have insurance. We could also do some things together to address the problems of preexisting condition exceptions in coverage. All of us want to do something about that. So I would say to the gentleman, I am disappointed--as I know he knows that we are--that his side has decided to defy the protests that came from the President and others on his side of the aisle about the use of reconciliation for health care. But I would ask the gentleman, will the House move next on health care or will it be the Senate? And I yield.

Mr. CANTOR. I thank the gentleman. Mr. Speaker, from the summation of his remarks, I gather that there has been no willingness to listen to the American people on the part of the majority here in the House. The gentleman does know that all polls indicate that the American people want us to set the bill aside, to stop this construct that Washington is going to tell everyone how to design health care, and to really start over. In a CNN poll last week, 73 percent of the public said, Shelve the bill. Start over. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman's time, and I look forward to working together with him in whatever way we can, frankly, focusing on the issue of getting America back to work. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CANTOR

Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Maryland, the majority leader, for the purpose of announcing next week's schedule.

Mr. CANTOR. I yield.

Mr. CANTOR. I thank the gentleman for that. So, from my understanding, we can expect to have a vote on a health care bill between now and the Easter recess. If that is the case, I ask the gentleman, Mr. Speaker, what is the thought about what that bill would look like? And I would ask the gentleman does he expect this bill to be the President's bill or will there be actually a chance for the minority to participate in crafting a health care bill? I yield to the gentleman.

Mr. CANTOR. I thank the gentleman for that in-depth explanation of where he and his side is on this debate. Without prolonging this colloquy, I would just say to the gentleman, on display yesterday were clearly two different visions for how we want to address health care in this country. Clearly, the Republicans, by our attendance there and the engagement in that discussion, indicated that we too care about people's health care and want to do something to increase the quality, access, and affordability. We just have a very different way of trying to go about it. There are some areas in concept where we do have agreement. We just don't care for the bill. And the reason is, Mr. Speaker, the bill, from our opinion, is very much a bill which imposes on people in this country a preferred way of going about providing health care and covering people in terms of their illnesses. And we believe that on balance, it is better to err on the side of people and their individual choices and the way they think their health care should be delivered and in what form. So I look forward to perhaps the gentleman working with us to see if we could, if he doesn't like the word ``scrap,'' move away from the construct of the bill which, as the gentleman indicates, the public has rejected, as well as a significant portion of his caucus has rejected, and perhaps moving away from that construct and to try and address some of the issues that we discussed in a different context would be a way forward. But if, as the gentleman indicates, the majority is unwilling to set aside the Senate bill, will the gentleman indicate whether we would then proceed with reconciliation? And is it his position that he will not take reconciliation off the table?

Mr. CANTOR. I thank the gentleman for those remarks. I would ask the gentleman if we could turn, Mr. Speaker, to the question of jobs. As he indicated, that will be a focus of the next 4 weeks. The gentleman said earlier in this colloquy that we just participated in an historic event yesterday, that he in his career here has not seen an opportunity like that where both sides sat down with the President for 7 hours and the President spent the time on the issue of health care. In that vein, in terms of trying to open up dialogue and discussion, it would be very appropriate, I believe, Mr. Speaker, for us to give equal or more time to the pressing issue of jobs in this economy. Now, Mr. Speaker, Leader Boehner and I have forwarded to the gentleman as well as Speaker Pelosi a letter indicating that we would like to have a bipartisan jobs summit akin to what we had yesterday with the President, but perhaps just in this body. The Speaker's press reports have indicated that the Speaker is willing to engage in such a jobs summit. And I would just like to ask the gentleman if he intends to respond to the Leader and my letter. And if not, certainly responding here is just as well as to perhaps a scheduled time for such a summit to occur.

Mr. CANTOR. I thank the gentleman for that. In closing, Mr. Speaker, I look forward, along with the Leader and the rest of my colleagues, to begin working with the gentleman and the majority to start on an earnest attempt to create an environment for job creation so that people in this country can get back to work. With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CANTOR. I thank the gentleman for that. Does he have any sense of when we could expect the acceptance and the scheduling of such an event?

Mr. CANTOR. I thank the gentleman. Mr. Speaker, we have 4 weeks before our next district work period, and I would like to inquire from the gentleman about the upcoming legislative schedule during the next 4 weeks and what bills does he expect the House to consider prior to the Easter recess.

Mr. CANTOR

Mr. CANTOR. I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin, the ranking member, for yielding. Madam Speaker, it would be recklessly naive to go about our business in Washington pretending there won't be severe consequences for the mountains of debt we are piling up. Yet today it is evident that this kind of willful ignorance is sweeping across Washington. We are set to lift our Nation's debt burden to $14 trillion. Madam Speaker, I would ask my colleagues in this chamber if they know how many zeroes 14 trillion has. I would ask the American people if they know how many zeroes are in 14 trillion. It is 14 trillion. It is beyond comprehension to be talking about numbers this big. More precisely, the limit is 1, 4, 2, 9, 4, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0. It is a travesty. The writing is on the wall. Congress needs to wake up and realize that the future of American prosperity is in dire straits, mortal danger. As Americans hunker down to weather the economic storm, Democrats in Congress boosted Federal spending by 12 percent. Madam Speaker, we have heard a lot about the majority's PAYGO scheme, but this will not affect any spending that has already happened. In fact, it will perpetuate the problem by locking in that spending going forward. And the majority's solution to offset all of their spending is more tax increases, which will kill jobs at the time we need them most. Supporters of this legislation will pull the wool over the American people's eyes and claim the mantle of fiscal responsibility, but the American people aren't buying it. By voting in favor of this PAYGO bill, the majority will be increasing the debt burden on our children and grandchildren by $1.9 trillion. Strip away the sweet-sounding rhetoric, and that's what this bill is all about. Madam Speaker, I just end with this rhetorical question: How effective can this so-called panacea really be when the debt has risen by $5.4 trillion since the majority imposed PAYGO in this very House over 3 years ago?

Mr. CANTOR

Mr. CANTOR. I thank the gentleman for his accuracy. And I would ask, Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman could tell us whether he believed there would be a vote on another health care bill prior to President's Day Recess. I yield.

Mr. CANTOR. I thank the gentleman. Mr. Speaker, in the spirit of brevity, I just have one final question for the gentleman, and that is, we would anticipate the gentleman and his party bringing forward a budget at some point, and laying out the fiscal narrative, if you will, or plan for the year. And I know recent reports have indicated the President believes that Congress has a spending problem. We, and I'm sure the gentleman, accept the admonition that Congress does have a spending problem, and Mr. Speaker, I'd ask when we anticipate bringing that forward, and does the gentleman expect the House to follow the President's lead in freezing nonsecurity discretionary spending?

Mr. CANTOR. I thank the gentleman. And Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would first note, I agree with the gentleman. Discretionary spending is not the only piece that this Congress must address in terms of trying to get our fiscal house in order. But it is a point that should be made that over the last year, nondefense discretionary spending at the baseline has increased 67 percent. So that when we're calling for a small freeze, as the gentleman indicates, in terms of percentages of the budget, you know, we certainly could do more. As the gentleman knows, we have tried to advocate for a spending freeze that would incorporate rescinding some of the increases, again, the 67 percent increases that we have seen over the last year. As a result of all the spending, as the gentleman knows, the Nation's deficit now stands at a record $1.35 trillion, something that all of us, I know, are very mindful of and would like very much to see reduced if not erased.

Mr. CANTOR. I yield.

Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, again in trying to maintain my brevity today, we do know that in the omnibus spending bill there was a 12 percent increase in the spending of the omnibus bill, something that all of us should try and eliminate and erase, given working families and small businesses are having to do much more and actually cut their expenditures right now. With that, I thank the gentleman, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. CANTOR. I thank the gentleman. Mr. Speaker, as this is the scheduling colloquy, I'd like to follow up with a few questions regarding the schedule. Mr. Speaker, I'd ask the majority leader if he could tell us what he expects to have on the floor the second week of February, the week before we head into President's Day Recess.

Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Maryland, the majority leader, for the purpose of announcing next week's schedule.

Mr. CANTOR

Mr. CANTOR. I didn't yield, Madam Speaker.

Mr. CANTOR. I yield.