At least three members of Virginia’s congressional delegation aren’t jumping off the pledge they signed with lobbyist Grover Norquist to oppose tax increases, although two left some wiggle room in their stances.
At least nine senior Republicans in Washington have signaled they’re willing to make a deal that could include higher taxes, along with entitlement cuts, to avert a “fiscal cliff” on Jan. 2.
But three Virginians indicated Tuesday they don’t think tax increases are the answer.
Rep. Robert Hurt, R-5th District, was “sticking to his consistent position on this issue,” spokeswoman Gena Villari said Tuesday. “Raising taxes will only lead to fewer jobs and more spending,” Villari said on Hurt’s behalf.
Hurt made his promise to Norquist when he first was elected to Congress in 2010.
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Rep. Robert Goodlatte, R-6th District, who signed the Norquist vow several years ago, said Tuesday his “pledge is to the people of the 6th District of Virginia and no one else.”
“I support tax reform that could result in revenue increases through economic growth but I do not favor raising marginal tax rates,” Goodlatte said, adopting a stance that could leave room for closing loopholes.
Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-9th District and another of the six Virginia congress members who signed the Norquist pledge, said Tuesday he worries that expiring tax cuts on Jan. 1 could lead to another recession “if nothing is done about the so-called fiscal cliff.”
“I will review each bill on its own merits in an attempt to find the best possible solution for the people of America, Virginia, and — most importantly — the 9th District of Virginia,” said Griffith, whose district reaches from Roanoke County to the western tip of the state.
Rep. Eric Cantor, another Virginia signer of the no-tax pledge, said through a spokeswoman that “Republicans aren’t against tax rate hikes because of any one man or pledge. We’re against hiking rates because they're bad for the economy and kill jobs.”
Cantor, the House majority leader, told other news organizations his pledge was made to the voters of his district — a stance similar to Goodlatte’s.
Norquist’s role as a conservative lobbyist in Washington has been mysterious to many voters, but he has gotten the attention of political insiders through his promise to engineer the defeat of any Republican who supported a tax increase.
Americans for Tax Reform, Norquist’s lobbying group, mailed at least nine different brochures to Lynchburg-area homes this fall opposing President Obama’s re-election.
Hurt has a history with Norquist dating back to 2004 when Hurt represented Pittsylvania County in the House of Delegates.
Hurt and 18 other House Republicans supported a $1.4 billion tax increase pushed by then-Gov. Mark R. Warner.
The vote earned Hurt a spot on a “Virginia’s Least Wanted” poster issued by Americans for Tax Reform.
The other 18 House Republicans also were featured on the poster, along with 15 Senate Republicans who supported Warner’s tax package.
Hurt told Lynchburg Tea Party members in 2010 he regretted the 2004 vote and promised it wouldn’t happen again. He made a similar promise to Norquist, according to a report in CQ Politics.
Goodlatte has an older and possibly more flexible relationship with Norquist.
The Sixth District congressman has made a point, when asked about the no-tax pledge, of saying he signed it “many years ago.”
One of Goodlatte’s best-known pieces of legislation has been a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution — a measure that could lead to tax increases, according to vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan, who voted against it in the House.
Despite Goodlatte’s advocacy for the amendment, he remains on the list of pledge signers on Norquist’s website.