GOP Rep. James Lankford on Spending Cuts Plan - "This Is the Beginning"

The Republican Study Committee, a group of 165 conservative members of the House, announced Thursday a sweeping plan to slash $2.5 trillion in federal spending by 2021. And while lawmakers are eager to cut the massive budget deficit, questions were quickly raised about the impact of the spending cuts on the economic recovery.

On Friday's Washington Unplugged, CBS News' Bob Orr spoke with committee member Rep. James Lankford (R-Okla.). Orr asked how the committee plans to make sweeping cuts without hurting the economy.

Lankford responded by asking: "What's more important?"

He continued: "To start pulling down our debt, or continuing to spend at our current levels? We've got to start stabilizing our economy and one of the ways you stabilize the economy is by not having such a heavy debt load."

Among the committees proposals are to cut funding to programs from USAID to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

When Orr asked Lankford about a potential unemployment increase from job losses in the public sector, Lankford had this to say: "It is interesting. In the last two years. Government has been talking about increasing and they way they they've tried to increase jobs is through government jobs. I don't think we spur the economy and increase more growth across our economy by hiring more and more people from the federal workforce. We've got to start spurring private job growth."

Watch Friday's Washington Unplugged above, also featuring a roundtable with CBS News Director of Surveys Sarah Dutton and CBS Evening News Senior Producer Ward Sloane discussing the new CBS News/New York Times polls on President Obama, health care and the economy.