U.S. News: Group Backs Simpson-Bowles Plan --- House Members' Bid to Cut Deficit Looks a Long Shot but May Test Congress's Resolve for Budget Deal
A small bipartisan group of House lawmakers, bucking their Democratic and Republican leaders, is advancing a plan to reduce the federal budget deficit by more than $4 trillion over 10 years through a combination of spending cuts and tax increases.</br></br>A vote on the measure could come as soon as Wednesday. It is widely expected to fail, but the degree of support for the plan could prove a bellwether of whether Congress decides to pursue a broad bipartisan budget deal this election year.</br></br>The proposal pushed by Reps. Steve LaTourette (R., Ohio) and Jim Cooper (D., Tenn.), largely reflects the outline offered in 2010 by the White House's deficit-reduction commission chaired by Republican former Sen. Alan Simpson and Democrat Erskine Bowles.</br></br>The new plan comes amid a number of budget proposals in recent weeks, including from the White House and Republican leaders. But the new House proposal is the first to be pushed in Congress this year with any level of bipartisan support and is already attracting support from top executives who are eager to see Congress tackle the deficit.</br></br>The LaTourette-Cooper proposal would lower tax rates but also eliminate or dramatically limit tax breaks, accounting for close to $1 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years. It would also set a new limit on the long-term growth of federal health-care spending. It would instruct congressional panels to find $300 billion in spending cuts in federal programs, such as agriculture and federal retirement benefits.