Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) on Tuesday called on President Obama “to get off the campaign trail” and work with Republicans on a deal to avoid the $85 billion in sequester cuts slated to take effect March 1.
“What we need is for the president to get off the campaign trail, quit talking about raising taxes, and actually deliver on his promise to cut spending,” McMorris Rodgers said on “CBS This Morning.”
McMorris Rodgers's comments come as both Republicans and Obama have escalated their rhetoric in recent days, seeking to blame the other side for the sequester cuts that seem likely to be triggered on Friday.
The White House has pushed a number of cabinet officials in the last week to warn of the real world effects the across-the-board cuts would have on taxpayers. On Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano cautioned that cuts could leave the United States more vulnerable to terrorist attacks. And on Tuesday, Obama will head to Newport News, Va., to speak at the state’s largest manufacturer, a shipbuilding yard. The president is expected to highlight the threat of job losses from the sequester.
Republicans have hit back, however, charging Obama with attempting to scare voters into backing his stance in the sequester debate. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Monday called Obama a “road show” president and urged him to present a package of targeted cuts to replace the sequester.
Democrats insist that any deal include a combination of tax hikes and spending cuts, but Republicans say they granted new revenues in January’s fiscal cliff agreement and will only accept replacement spending cuts.
Polls show the public worrying that the impending cuts would have a major effect on the military and economy and would be more ready to blame Congressional Republicans over Obama if a deal is not struck.
McMorris Rodgers on Tuesday dismissed those polls, saying that voters want Washington to rein in government spending.
“America also knows that we have a spending problem, that Washington, D.C., has a spending problem. Every year we’re spending more than we bring in, and it never seems the right time to cut the spending,” she said. “President Obama made a promise as a part of this big compromise to raise the debt ceiling, he made a promise that we’re going to cut spending and it seems like we never get to the place of cutting the spending.”
“President Obama has spent over 50 million dollars promoting ‘ObamaCare,’ hiring a public relations firm to promote ObamaCare. There is a smarter way to find the savings, reduce spending in the federal government, than the president’s sequester,” McMorris Rodgers added.
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