House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said Monday he remains confident the congressional debt supercommittee will reach a deal on eliminating $1.2 trillion in federal spending by a November 23 deadline.
The Virginia Republican downplayed speculation that
“I don’t think the sequester will be applicable because I think they will reach an agreement by the deadline,” Mr. Cantor said in a his weekly interview with reporters.
Mr. Cantor, who served as one of the original members of the debt ceiling negotiations headed by Vice President Joe Biden earlier this year, said he understands the pressures facing members of the supercommittee.
“I served in the Biden talks so I know how difficult it is and how much pressure they’re under,” Mr. Cantor said. “We’ve got to let them do their work.”
The committee was set up in the summer as part of a fudged deal to end a month-long stand-off between congressional Republicans and President Barack Obama over raising the country’s debt ceiling. But after two months of negotiation the six Republicans and six Democrats have so far failed to reach agreement.
