Santorum Slams Fiscal Cliff Agreement

By Newsmax Wires

Former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum is severely disappointed with the tax-and-spending deal approved by Congress.

"Last night's actions in the House and Senate were only our elected officials kicking the can down the road rather than make meaningful changes on spending cuts and tax reforms,” he said Wednesday in a statement.

“As well-intentioned as it may be, the compromise passed by the Senate and House is at best a short-term band-aid and at worst a prescription for further economic decline in our country."

Santorum, now chairman of the conservative group Patriot Voices, puts the onus for failure on the Democrats. "President Obama and the Democratic leadership showed no courage by refusing to tackle the real fiscal challenges we face,” he said. “When given the chance to reform entitlements, Obama and the Democrats said no. When given the chance to fight for meaningful tax reform, they said no.”

Now the Republicans have leverage when Obama asks for a debt-limit increase in the coming weeks, Santorum says.

"It is clear that under the current rules of the game in Washington combined with an absence of leadership, our country needs structural changes to force leaders to do what is in the best long-term interest of our country. That is why there should be not a single vote for any deal to avoid the real fiscal cliff — the debt ceiling increase — without the passage of a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution."