White House Press Secretary Jay Carney seemed to express doubt that Congress would actually enact the deficit reduction measures scheduled to go into effect next year if the deficit reduction committee fails to reach a compromise.

“I think they kick in but they don’t begin to take effect for a year,” Carney said today of the automatic cuts that comprise the trigger in the recent debt-ceiling deal.  “Now, you’re asking me will Congress — if this were to come to pass and how Congress would react next year, I would hesitate to speculate on that,” he added.