House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Representative Republican of Virginia, took jabs at Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senator Democrat of Nevada, over Reid’s Social Security comments. Reid made comments that the current Social Security program is not facing a financial crisis.
According to Cantor, Reid is a roadblock to addressing the deficit and taking real action to tackle issues with Social Security.
President Obama in his State of the Union address called for a bipartisan solution to strengthen Social Security for future generations. President Obama said reforms must come without benefit cuts. Cantor disagreed with the President on that point, stating that everything should be n the table.
Republicans have said they are willing to examine all options for entitlement programs such as Social Security, in an effort to address the nation’s climbing deficit. The Republicans are committed to leaving the retiree benefits unchanged, at least for those Americans older than 55.
Cantors remarks about Reid came after the Senator made comments on national TV that the problem in Social Security is overstated. Reid told NBC that people who dislike government perpetuate Social Security comments and that the program itself is fine. Senator Reid did include in his comments that Social Security could use improvements. Reid does not want to sacrifice Social Security in order to deal with the nation’s debt.