White House touts taxes over spending cuts for deficit reduction, hits GOP
Christian Datoc
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The White House opened Tuesday by attacking Republicans’ designs on deficit reduction, claiming the public does not support their proposals and that President Joe Biden‘s agenda will cut the deficit by $3 trillion over the next decade.
“Congressional Republicans keep indicating they want to talk about deficits. Not as much as we do,” White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates wrote in a memo Tuesday morning.
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Bates claimed the public, “including a majority of conservatives,” backs Biden’s proposal of raising taxes on “the super wealthy,” closing tax loopholes and certain incentives for large corporations, and “expanding Medicare’s new ability to negotiate lower drug costs.”
He also said Republican proposals amount to “deficit-increasing tax welfare skewed to wealthy people and large corporations that adds trillions to the debt” and gut benefits, including Medicare and Social Security.
Tuesday’s memo comes as congressional Republicans are seeking to write appropriations bills for the next fiscal year below the federal spending caps included in this summer’s debt ceiling negotiations package. The memo specifically blasts the Republican Study Committee’s proposal that would roll back Medicare‘s new drug price negotiation policy and lower taxes for households earning more than $4 million annually.
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“The American people fundamentally reject Republicans’ approach across the board on this subject,” Bates wrote. “It is simply not credible for congressional Republicans to claim that deficit reduction necessitates slashing critical benefits that middle-class families pay to earn their whole working lives, but not taxpayer-funded subsidies to giant corporations making record profits. But it does show who they are really fighting for.”
“Again, congressional Republicans claim to be champing at the bit to have a debate about deficits. In other words, they want to shine even more of a spotlight on their devotion to wealthy special interests above all else,” he concluded. “On their plans to eviscerate Medicare and Social Security benefits while spending trillions on tax handouts to the rich and big corporations, and force seniors to pay even higher drug costs so Big Pharma can fill more swimming pools with caviar and diamonds. We’ll book them on TV ourselves if it’s helpful!”