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The House vote that passed a compromise plan to increase the nation's debt limit did so without the support of freshman Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem.

Griffith was one of 66 Republican members to oppose the Budget Control Act of 2011, which passed the GOP-controlled House by a vote of 269-161. Republicans Bob Goodlatte of Roanoke County and Robert Hurt of Chatham voted for the measure.

"I really believe we need to be doing more," Griffith said in a telephone interview minutes after the House vote.

Griffith, like many of his freshmen colleagues, has not been an easy sell for Republican leaders in the debt ceiling debate. He voted against the GOP's initial "cut, cap and balance" proposal because he considered the spending cuts insufficient. On Friday, he voted for a bill pushed by House Speaker John Boehner, but said he "had to hold my nose while doing so."

"The bill last week just got me over the edge," said Griffith, who has called for aggressive spending cuts. "This one retreated just a little bit, but it was enough that I felt comfortable voting no."

The legislation creates a framework to reduce deficits by more than $2 trillion over the next decade and to increase the debt limit in two stages. More than $900 billion in deficit reductions are included in the measure passed Monday. A bicameral, bipartisan committee will develop a plan to generate up to $1.5 trillion in additional savings. The proposal also calls for both houses of Congress to vote on a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.

"This legislation, which is the result of bipartisan negotiations, cuts more federal spending than it increases the debt limit and takes the critical first steps toward bringing fiscal responsibility back to Washington," Goodlatte said.

Goodlatte has introduced a balanced budget amendment in the past three sessions of Congress. He said he has 241 co-sponsors for his current proposal, including 20 members who signed up during the height of the debt ceiling debate.

"We've also moved it back to the center of the debate," Goodlatte said Monday night. "There's no question that the balanced budget amendment became a key part of bringing the parties together and working out this debt limit deal, and it will play a key part in the next round of these debates."

Goodlatte was part of the Republican whip team that corralled votes for the compromise, but said he understood Griffith's objections to the measure.

"He viewed this as a glass half-empty instead of a glass half-full and he has the opportunity to cast that vote, and I certainly share his view very, very closely about what needs to take place," Goodlatte said. "The only difference is in how to get there. To me, this was a significant step in the right direction."

Hurt said the bill "implements historic spending reforms that actually shrink the size and scope of the federal government and does so in spite of a Senate and White House that have remained committed to continuing the current spending status quo."

The Democratic-controlled Senate will vote on the compromise today.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said Monday that he wants to serve on the 12-member joint committee, which will be appointed by congressional leaders.

"I'd love to serve on that panel," Warner told reporters in a conference call. "I've expressed that interest to the majority leader."

Warner has been part of a bipartisan Senate group called the "Gang of Six" that produced a framework for cutting the deficit by $3.7 trillion over 10 years through spending cuts, entitlement reforms and tax reforms. Warner said that a comprehensive, bipartisan approach is needed to tackle the country's fiscal crisis, and that both parties must be willing to compromise.

"Whether I'm on it or not, I hope what all the leaders will put on this panel are people who will come to it with an open mind," Warner said.