Cantor challenges president to support the GOP’s “bold” ideas

Congressman Eric Cantor isn’t expecting much from tonight’s State of the Union.  In an interview Tuesday prior to the speech, Cantor made it clear that the Obama agenda has been unsuccessful and it is time for him to change course.

“It’s the president and Harry Reid who don’t necessarily share our view that have to change things,” he said.  ”They want to keep going like we’ve always done.”

Cantor employed the use of one word numerous times in our interview and in various other interviews prior to the speech: “bold”.  The Henrico Congressman believes that best describes the difference between the House Republican agenda and the White House.

“We believe that we have some bold ideas for growth and for removing the onerous sort of red tape that strangles small business people,” he said. “We believe we have bold ideas to get the fiscal situation straight here in Washington, so we can see economic growth.”

Cantor is open to compromise on things like the tax code and reducing regulatory burdens on small business owners. But he made it clear, its time for the president to come to them.

“We should try to and deliever on some results for the American people and not just be about the election.”

Here is an extended clip from our interview:

 

Speaking of the presidential election, despite some reports, Cantor told me that he has not considered endorsing yet in the republican primary. But he did outline some of the characteristics he is looking for in a candidate. 

“There are and there is a need for bold ideas right now,” he said. “People want to believe in America again.”

While Cantor did not even open the door to putting his support behind one specific candidate, he was not afraid to say (not surprisngly) that it is time for President Obama to go.

“It’s time I think, for America to try something new,” he said. “And that is what this election is about.”

An clip from his answer on the presidential election is below:

 

Cantor warns entitlement benefits will have to change

In the wake of news  that Social Security is on the road to insolvency, House Majority leader Eric Cantor said the only way to fix the system is to change the benefits structure.

In a live interview on NBC12 First at Four, Cantor said there is no way programs like Social Security and Medicaid can continue to deliver the same type of benefits they currently are,  forever.

“The benefits that many people are expecting are not going to be there because of the bankrupt nature of these programs,” said Cantor.

A new report from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office projects that there will be no money left in the Social Security account by 2037. It also reports that for the first time since an overhaul in the ’80s, Social Security paid out more money than it took in.

Cantor believes that is enough to put every possible option on the table.

“The decision that we have to make as a country is, are we going to restructure for those younger folks, looking to right now start a career and get a job, are we going to try and address the obligations of these programs off into the future?” he said.

In the past Republicans have floated the idea of privatizing at least a portion of Social Security. That is something Democrats have passionately resisted.  Cantor promised that he would never advocate a plan where benefits would change for people 55 and over. He does however believe that the return on Social Security benefits for people 54 and younger must be on the table.  And he accused Democrats of not doing enough to address the problem.

“The leader in the senate, Harry Reid has said there’s no problem with Social Security,” said Cantor.  “So we’re going to have to do some convincing, if you will, of the Senate Democratic leader to come along with us and engage in the discussion.”

How would you solve the Social Security problem in America? You can give your take on the NBC12 Facebook page.

You can see the full interview with Rep. Cantor below. The full transcript can be found on NBC12.com.