First-term Republican plans to vote no on Boehner

[July 28, 2011]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- A freshman House Republican says he still can't vote for the deficit-reduction proposal pushed by Speaker John Boehner, although he calls it "a step in the right direction."

Rep. Joe Walsh of Illinois tells CBS's "The Early Show" he doesn't think the Boehner proposal or a rival plan offered by Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid are sufficient.

Asked if he could vote later Thursday in the House for the Boehner program, Walsh replied, "Right now, I can't." But the tea party-backed lawmaker said he's still thinking about it.

Walsh said lawmakers are "obsessed" with the Aug. 2 default deadline. He said chances of getting deficit-reduction right would be better if Congress weren't wedded to the default deadline, saying "we've got plenty of revenues in August to service our debt."

[Associated Press]

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