You Cut

Rep. Eric Cantor, R-7th, will announce today the formation of a Republican congressional program to solicit citizen input on ways to cut the federal budget.

Cantor, the Republican whip, said the “YouCut” project involves a two-step process:

The House Economic Recovery Working Group led by Cantor will post online a list of five proposals to reduce government spending. Members of the public can vote online or by cell phone on the proposal they most favor. The ideas can come from the public or House Republicans.

The following week, House Republicans will seek a vote on whether to take up and debate the proposed cut.

Each week, the Republican minority will post floor speeches, bill summaries and vote tallies online.

Cantor said the program is designed to challenge “Congress’ culture of spending” by engaging the public.

“With a deficit near $1.5 trillion, we don’t think it is too much to ask of Congress to spend some time debating bills to actually reduce spending,“ he said.

“The American people will have a direct input on what they feel is the best way for the government to save money, each and every week,“ Cantor said.

Examples from the first week’s group of ideas include eliminating the presidential election fund, for a savings of $260 million over five years, and eliminating community development funds for affluent neighborhoods, for a savings of $2.6 billion over five years.

As the whip, Cantor is the second-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives.