House Freshmen to Ask Obama for Debt Plan Specifics
A group of House Republican freshmen will travel down Pennsylvania Avenue on Tuesday to call on President Barack Obama to put forward a specific deficit reduction plan.
“Because you have not presented any written detailed proposal to raise the debt ceiling, our constituents are left in the dark as to what specific cuts you propose as well as what taxes you are planning to raise,” Rep. Tom Reed (N.Y.) wrote in a letter to Obama signed by 64 other lawmakers, mostly fellow freshmen.
The aggressive move comes as House and Senate leaders continue to discuss a plan for raising the debt limit before Aug. 2, when the Treasury Department says it will no longer be able to forestall default.
The House is also scheduled to consider a Cut, Cap and Balance proposal Tuesday that would make significant spending reductions in order to raise the debt limit. The proposal is strongly backed by House conservatives and many of the 87 freshmen who were elected last year on a message of fiscal restraint.