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GOP Leader Eric Cantor Pulls Out of Debt Talks Over Dem's Tax Demands

WASHINGTON (The Blaze/AP) -- House Republicans, including Majority Leader Eric Cantor, are pulling out of negotiations being led by Vice President Joe Biden on the budget because Democrats insist on pairing spending cuts with at least some tax increases.

Cantor, from Virginia, said it's time for President Barack Obama to weigh in directly.

The Hill has part of the statement released by Cantor:

“Regardless of the progress that has been made, the tax issue must be resolved before discussions can continue," Cantor said. "Given this impasse, I will not be participating in today's meeting and I believe it is time for the president to speak clearly and resolve the tax issue,” he said.

Cantor said that the talks so far have established a “blueprint” for going forward.“I believe that we have identified trillions in spending cuts, and to date, we have established a blueprint that could institute the fiscal reforms needed to start getting our fiscal house in order,” he said.

“That said, each side came into these talks with certain orders, and as it stands the Democrats continue to insist that any deal must include tax increases. There is not support in the House for a tax increase, and I don’t believe now is the time to raise taxes in light of our current economic situation,” he said.

“Once resolved, we have a blueprint to move forward to trillions [in] spending cuts and binding mechanisms to change the way things are done around here,” he said.

Cantor said the Republican-dominated House simply won't support tax increases and that he won't participate in a meeting scheduled for Thursday. Cantor says that plenty of progress has been made in identifying trillions of dollars in potential spending cuts.

UPDATE:According to ABC News, Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., is following suit:

...[Kyl] will also drop out of the debt talks, a source within his office confirms today. The Arizona Republican’s office will issue a formal statement shortly.

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