As reported here, Republicans have rejected a Democratic Super Committee offer that would have reduced deficits by $2.3 trillion over 10 years. The reductions would be split evenly — a trillion a piece — between higher tax revenues and federal programs, plus $300 billion saved in interest on the national debt.
The plan also notably would not reduce Social Security benefits by using a less generous measure of inflation to calculate cost of living adjustments — a proposal some Democrats have supported in the past.
Dems also want to codify their insistence that entitlement cuts be paired with new tax revenue. As explained in this summary document, the plan includes $350 billion in up front new revenues, and a requirement that Congress reform the tax code in a way that raises an additional $650 billion in new revenues. If Congress failed to act on its own, new provisions to raise that revenue, including limiting tax deductions, would take effect automatically. The entitlement cuts on offer, taken largely from Medicare providers, would only go into effect after the tax reforms were enacted or this penalty was triggered.
