VIDEO: Rep. Steven LaTourette Chats Fiscal Cliff on CBS THIS MORNING

By: Jan. 02, 2013
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Rep. Steven LaTourette (R-OH) discussed voting for the fiscal cliff deal and the House GOP scrapping a Hurricane Sandy relief package in an interview with co-host Norah O'Donnell and CBS THIS MORNING: SATURDAY co-host Anthony Mason that was broadcast live today, Jan. 2, 2013, on CBS THIS MORNING on the CBS Television Network (7:00 AM - 9:00 AM). View the interview in its entirety below!

Below are excerpts from the interview:

O'DONNELL: I have to ask you, this was an extension of the tax cuts for most of The Middle class and yet, no spending cuts. How could you vote for that?

LaTOURETTE: Well, because it's the Hobson's choice. If there was no deal, taxes would have gone up on every American, and the Speaker's stated objective was always to spare as many people in the country as he could from a tax increase, but at the end of the day WE got whooped. Now, I would also say that WE put Simpson-Bowles, the grand bargain, on the floor last spring. I got a grand total of 38 votes on the big deal. And 38 votes, even in a math-challenged person like myself, is not what you need to win.

O'DONNELL: I know you were joking when you accused some of the senators that they must have been drunk when they voted for this. But I have to tell you, you've left this country with a huge hangover, because now you've got about $4 trillion in debt added to the deficit and no spending cuts. I mean again, what is wrong with Congress?

LaTOURETTE: It's outrageous. It's because no one will make the difficult decisions necessary to get this thing done. This is a problem that requires a $4 trillion to $6 trillion fix; quite frankly, the President won't show the leadership to do it on the entitlement side. We've been slow to the dance on the revenue side. And just about the senators being drunk, since you mentioned it twice, my wife has yelled at me, and I'm supposed to say nothing good happens after midnight on New Year's Eve.



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