Reaction to committee's failure to cut deficit

Reaction to a special deficit-reduction supercommittee's failure to approve a plan that cuts at least $1.2 trillion in the coming decade:

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"I would have anticipated that the president of the United States would have spent every day and many nights working with members of the supercommittee to try to find a way to bridge the gap, but instead he's been out doing other things, campaigning, blaming and traveling. This is, in my view, inexcusable." ? Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

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"One way or another, we will be trimming the deficit by a total of at least $2.2 trillion over the next 10 years. That's going to happen, one way or another. We've got $1 trillion locked in, and either Congress comes up with $1.2 trillion, which so far they've failed to do, or the sequester kicks in and these automatic spending cuts will occur that bring in an additional $1.2 trillion." ? President Barack Obama.

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"Despite the danger posed by sequestration, I join the president in his call for Congress to avoid an easy way out of this crisis. Congress cannot simply turn off the sequester mechanism, but instead must pass deficit reduction at least equal to the $1.2 trillion it was charged to pass under the Budget Control Act." ? Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

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"Manufacturers continue to be negatively affected by the rising debt crisis and its accompanying uncertainty and shaken consumer confidence. We are extremely disappointed that the Committee did not take advantage of the opportunity to restore confidence and stability to our economy by reforming entitlement programs and creating a tax code that promotes investment, growth and jobs." ? National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons.

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"The American people are tired of their elected leaders listening to the extreme voices in their party instead of the voices of reason. I am disappointed that Republicans never found the courage to ignore Tea Party extremists and millionaire lobbyists like Grover Norquist, and listen instead to the overwhelming majority of Americans - including the vast majority of Republicans - who want a balanced approach to deficit reduction." ? Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

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"They were trying to break out of the mess by being, in my judgment, even dumber ? that is, creating a committee of 12 picked by the political leadership to magically get in a room to come up with something that 535 couldn't solve." ? Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

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"Unfortunately, this opportunity has been wasted." ? U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-11-21-Debt-Supercommittee-Quote%20Box/id-4d01a80ba42d4ccea973e349a98cec29

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