Rep. Bill Young of Pinellas County says he's open to voting for tax increases -- depending on what else is in the bill.
“Any increased revenue has got to be accompanied by a reduction in spending,” Young told reporters Monday. “If we don’t do that, then there’s no deal.”
No deal by January 1, 2013 means automatic budget cuts half of which will come from the defense budget, Young said.
“And that’s going to be tough,” Young said. “Now there are some things that are exempt from sequestration for example, soldiers’ pay, soldiers’ medical care that would be exempt from the sequestration.”
A new Gallup poll shows 70 percent of Americans want Washington leaders to cut a compromise budget deal before they push the country off the “fiscal cliff.”
Young doesn’t think the Washington leadership will allow automatic budget cuts to happen.
“I think what will happen, they’ll probably put it off for like 90 days and give Congress 90 days and the president 90 days to come up with the solution,” Young said.
Most of the “fiscal cliff” debate in the news media has centered on increased taxes for the wealthy versus decreased benefits for recipients of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
