House GOP content to keep punting on spending

House Republicans would love it if they could strike a deal with Senate Democrats to achieve their goal of cutting at least $61 billion for the rest of fiscal 2011.

But Washington being Washington, they know that might be too much to ask for and as a result, House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., on Monday did not rule the possibility of a series of two-week continuing resolutions, like the one expected to be approved this week, for the rest of the fiscal year.

This week's two-week CR includes $4 billion in cuts and will fund the government through March 18, and Cantor suggested that as long as the short-term extensions include an appropriate level of cuts, they could get GOP support.

"It's certainly not our intention that that will be the best way to operate," Cantor said at his weekly news conference, during which he again lashed out at Senate Democrats for not being as determined as Republicans to cut spending.

House Chief Deputy Majority Whip Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Ill., also indicated that Republicans could conceivably reach their targeted level of cuts, piece by piece, if they have to.

"If you accept the premise that you can cut $4 billion in two weeks, you keep walking down that line of thinking, and you can get to the '08 levels in seven months," said Roskam.

"You can do it. You just got to do it $1 billion at a time," said Roskam.

Cantor said a longer-term, seven-month continuing resolution would better eliminate the uncertainty concerning government operations, would allow Congress to focus more on the upcoming 2012 budget year, and also would permit Republicans to attach some important policy riders.

But he said, "We're trying to do everything we can to deliver on our promise to cut spending and not shut the government down, and that's why we're putting forth the temporary" CR.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has signaled that the Senate might go along with a two-week extension that would cut about $4 billion. Under the current CR, funding for the federal government expires on Friday.

Of course, there remains some uncertain internal politics in both chambers and both parties-including in the House GOP, where many freshmen have been a driving force in pushing for cuts to government spending.

Cantor, asked if he has the support of the House Republican freshmen on the planned two-week CR-one that includes $4 billion in cuts-said Monday only that, "I can tell you we've had a very open process."

"Members are informed about the road forward as far as a temporary CR," he said.

Roskam said that discussions have been held about the CR with a range of members in the Republican Conference, and that, "the feedback that we've gotten has been very, very positive." Roskam suggested the uncertainty exists on the Democratic side.

"You see a little bit of tension, at least the subtext is some tension between" House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Reid, he said. "Leader Reid appears to be moving in a direction that says, well, maybe some of these cuts are things that we need to move forward on. Leader Pelosi seems to be rejecting that.

"So, I hope the Democrats are able to get over their divisions and come together in the same way that House and Senate Republicans are in working on this goal," said Roskam.

In response, Pelosi spokesman Nadeam Elshami said that, "Democrats agree that we must work together to avoid a government shutdown because American taxpayers should not be denied the critical services they have already paid for."

But, he added, "Any cuts proposed by Democrats or Republicans must be measured by whether they create or lose jobs and whether they strengthen or weaken the economy and the middle class."