A plan to replace the across-the-board spending cuts of the "sequester" should put the bulk of the reductions years out to protect the economy in the short run, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer told CNBC on Tuesday.
"Don't tamp [the economy] in the short-term. But in the long-term, get us to a fiscally balanced position," the Maryland Democrat said in a "Squawk Box" interview. "I think that will give confidence to the markets."
(Read More: Sequestration 'Meat Cleaver' Is Irresponsible: Summers)
"Everybody agrees the sequester is irrational because it cuts the highest priority and the lowest priority the same amount," he added. "[But] Republicans have not put a single bill on the House floor, which they have sole responsibility for doing, [to] replace the sequester."
Hoyer told CNBC that House Democrats will again offer a bill this week to replace the automatic spending cuts with a balanced package that won't harm economy and achieve fiscal responsibility.
(Read More: U.S. Spending Ax Set to Fall, but Then What?)
President Barack Obama wants more revenues on the table in addition to spending cuts in any deal to replace the sequester. Republicans feel that the new year agreement to avoid the "fiscal cliff" was mostly tax increases and now the discussion needs to focus on funding reductions and entitlement reform.
—By CNBC's Matthew J. Belvedere; Follow him on Twitter @Matt_SquawkCNBC
