Cantor Holds Line on Cuts to Pay for Disaster Relief

Eric Cantor took some heat after he demanded spending cuts to pay for disaster relief in Joplin, but he looks to be holding the line when his own district is involved: Congress "will find the monies" to cover earthquake damage in Mineral, Va., but “those monies will be offset with appropriate savings or cost-cutting elsewhere,” CBS News reports. And if Hurricane Irene does a number on the East Coast—and Cantor's homestate Virginia is currently under a state of emergency—a Cantor aide is suggesting more of the same.

Though she said she wouldn’t “speculate on damage before it happens,” she noted that “Eric has consistently said that additional funds for federal disaster relief ought to be offset with spending cuts." The comments could pose a political problem for Cantor, Talking Points Memo says: If the hurricane hits hard, his colleagues will want federal aid quick, “sans congressional wrangling over the budget.” (More Eric Cantor stories.)