Rep. Amash: Freshmen were 'begging' GOP leadership for compromise on debt-ceiling deal
Wed, Apr 04, 2012
Source: The Hill
By Pete Kasperowicz
Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) told a business audience in Michigan this week that many Republican freshmen were pleading with GOP leaders to accept several Democratic proposals in last year's debt-ceiling agreement, and said working with Democrats is the only way to reform large federal entitlement programs.
"Many of us in the freshman class were begging the senior members to accept closing tax loopholes, eliminating oil subsidies, eliminating farm subsidies and reforming military spending," Amash told the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, according to MLive. "That's the only way we can win the real reforms for Social Security and Medicare."
Amash, who voted against the GOP budget resolution before the Easter break and is a frequent "no" vote on Republican bills, also criticized Republicans for not looking for ways to compromise with Democrats.
"If you're continually in a take-no-prisoners political war, it's not easy to talk to the other side, let alone trust them," Amash said.
But while he called for compromise, he also credited freshman Republicans with bringing attention to the fiscal crisis. "The good news is that the tide is turning, thanks largely to the freshman class," he said.
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