Noem: ‘Trillions’ in cuts needed in debt ceiling deal

• Noem

U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem, R-S.D.

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U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem, R-S.D., said any budget deal will need to include “trillions” in budget cuts before she would vote to raise the nation’s debt ceiling.

“In order for me to vote to raise the debt ceiling, we need to cut trillions and change the way we spend money in Washington, D.C. That’s what I’ll be looking for,” Noem told reporters Thursday.

Typically, Congress measures spending over a decade, so the trillions in question would stretch over 10 years. President Obama has said he is seeking $4 trillion in savings. The nation’s debt currently stands at more than $14 trillion.

Noem’s comments come as President Obama and top congressional leaders are in intense negotiations over budget reforms as a condition of raising the nation’s debt ceiling. The nation’s leaders are working daily to reach a deal as an Aug. 2 deadline looms for additional borrowing authority.

Republicans have repeatedly said any tax increases would be a deal-breaker, but some have said they would consider closing tax loopholes.

Noem seems to be in that camp, although she has yet to list any specific tax provisions she would like to change.

“I’ve always been in favor of tax reform and in having a more fair tax system. We’ve got a complicated and convoluted tax system that needs be fixed,” she said.

At the same time, Noem said she agrees with Republican leaders, saying that “raising taxes is the last thing we should do.”

“I’m not interested in raising taxes on the middle class and on job creators when have such a tough economic situation,” she said.

She also criticized federal spending and a government she believes is too big.

“The economy needs, certainly, to be released from the death grip the overgrown federal government has around its neck,” she said.

Noem said that as leader of the Republican House freshmen, she participates in weekly leadership meetings and carries forth the position of her fellow first-term members of Congress. She declined to discuss what messages she has delivered to top Republican leaders and said she’s waiting to see the specifics of any deal before saying what provisions she might support.

“I don’t think anybody’s real clear about the specifics of this deal that’s coming forward. I’m interested in making sure we have a sustainable federal government, which right now we don’t.”

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