Heritage Action urges lawmakers to vote 'no' on debt deal

Citing an "insufficient level of cuts," an arm of the powerful conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation urged lawmakers to oppose the debt-ceiling compromise brokered by congressional leaders and the White House over the weekend.

"The deal relies on an insufficient level of cuts, a 'super committee' tasked with brokering a grand bargain that will lead to massive tax hikes, massive defense cuts, or both," reads a statement put out by the organization Monday morning.

The Heritage Foundation Action's position will likely cause some Republican lawmakers to think twice about supporting the Budget Control Act of 2011, because the vote will be counted on a scorecard it uses to measure adherence to conservative principles. 

The deal, reached on Sunday, would cut nearly $1 trillion in planned spending over 10 years and create a committee tasked with identifying another $1.5 trillion in cuts over 10 years to be made in exchange for raising the debt ceiling by $900 billion over the next few months, then by another $1.5 trillion early next year. 

Heritage Foundation Action is the advocacy branch of the Heritage Foundation.