Hoyer implies budget deal possible if broader spending cuts considered

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) on Thursday floated what could be a basis for Democratic agreement on FY 2011 spending cuts, saying that while Democrats can agree to cuts, they must not all come from discretionary non-security spending.

"Democrats agree that cutting spending is part of the solution to our difficult problems that confront us, but we also believe that cuts should be smart and targeted, not reckless," Hoyer said in remarks Thursday morning on the floor.

Hoyer said that by focusing cuts only on discretionary non-security spending, the House Republican plan would drastically cut education, health, community-development programs and others that help people, which is why many economists have said it would lead to significant job losses.

"All of the proposed cuts … come from this small slice of the budget," Hoyer said. "When they attempt to find $100 billion in savings, and when you insist on getting these saving from 14 percent of the budget, you have to cut very deeply into absolutely essential projects and programs for our people."

Hoyer concluded his remarks by appealing to the public to consider the House GOP plan and said the challenge of finding spending cuts can only be met by looking across the entire budget.

"I urge our citizens to look at the consequences of these cuts and look at the small sliver that the Republicans are focusing themselves on and you and I on," Hoyer said. "We need to see the whole picture if we're going to come to grips with the challenge that confronts us."

Hoyer spoke at about the same time Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said on the Senate floor that Democrats are ready to negotiate on a budget deal for FY 2011, after votes on competing budget plans both failed in the Senate on Wednesday.