With a debt-ceiling deal on its way toward passage, Sen. Mark R. Warner, D-Va., vowed to continue to fight for more meaningful debt reduction.
"Assuming we get through tomorrow, we've dodged a bullet, but we've not provided a full solution," Warner said on a conference call with reporters Monday.
Virginia's U.S. House delegation split Monday night on the measure to raise the debt ceiling. Six Republicans and one Democrat voted to back the deal. Two Democrats and two Republicans voted no.
"This measure is not perfect or the way we would have done it if we were in charge, but it will finally begin to change the way Washington spends taxpayer dollars," said House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-7th.
"The big win in this measure is that despite the insistence of the president and his party, there are no tax hikes. With so many people out of work, with the middle class hoping for more jobs, the last thing we need right now are tax hikes."
The no votes reflect differing constituencies in the Virginia delegation.
Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-9th, who has strong tea-party support, said, "Today's deal only requires a balanced budget amendment to be voted on — not passed."
Rep. Robert C. "Bobby" Scott, D-3rd, also voted no, saying, "This budget deal is completely irresponsible and only begins to offset the $800 billion in tax cuts Congress extended last December, much of which benefits that portion of a taxpayer's income in excess of $250,000."
Rep. J. Randy Forbes, R-4th, who represents a large military constituency in Hampton Roads, voted no, saying the bill imposed "a security risk" on the American people that he was "unwilling to accept."
Warner said he had indicated to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., his desire to serve on the 12-member bipartisan, bicameral "super committee" that would be tasked with identifying the majority of the deficit reductions if the deal passes the Senate today.
"I'd love to serve on that panel," Warner said. "My fear is that this could be made of a group that could be the more ideologically rigid in both parties, and I'm not sure that gets us to where we need to be."
As a founding member of the bipartisan "Gang of Six," Warner argued for a comprehensive $3.7 trillion debt-reduction plan to include new revenues through tax reform and across-the-board cuts, including trims to entitlements.
Former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney announced Monday that he opposed the deal, saying it "opens the door to higher taxes." Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling was announced Monday as the chairman of Romney's 2012 Virginia campaign.
"Clearly, had Mitt Romney been president we would have resolved this situation in a very different manner," Bolling said in a statement. "Mitt understands that the problem in Washington is not a lack of money, it is a lack of fiscal discipline, and he knows that we are ultimately going to have to reduce federal spending by significant amounts to balance the budget on an annual basis and start paying down the federal debt.
"I agree that the best way to do that is to implement a cut, cap and balance approach. However, as long as President Obama is in the White House and as long as Democrats control the U.S. Senate, we are going to be stuck with these piecemeal solutions. That's why it's so important that we elect Mitt Romney president in 2012."
Republican U.S. Senate candidates George Allen and Jamie Radtke rejected the debt-reduction deal. Democratic candidate Timothy M. Kaine supported it.
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