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July 20, 2011

Obama Backs Bipartisan Senate Plan in Debt-Limit Standoff; Deal Would Reduce Taxes on Wealthy 
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President Obama is touting a bipartisan Senate budget plan to resolve
the impasse over raising the federal debt limit before an August 2
deadline. The so-called Gang of Six senators have proposed immediate
savings of $500 billion, an overhaul of Social Security and Medicare, as
well as tax changes to generate some $1 trillion in revenue. While
Democrats have previously backed raising taxes on wealthy households and
corporations, the new bipartisan plan would raise government revenue by
eliminating a number of popular tax breaks and deductions, including
write-offs for home mortgage interest and employer-provided health
benefits. Going further, the plan calls for using those savings to, in
fact, lower taxes for the wealthy, with the top individual and corporate
tax rates dropping from 35 percent to 29 percent. At the White House,
President Obama said the plan provides a basis for ongoing talks.

President Obama: "We have a Democratic President and administration that
is prepared to sign a tough package that includes both spending cuts,
modifications to Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare that would
strengthen those systems and allow them to move forward and would
include a revenue component. We now have a bipartisan group of senators
who agree with that balanced approach and we got the American people who
agree with that balanced approach."



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