US Democrats Seek Up to $3 Trillion in Budget Savings
WASHINGTON - U.S. Democrats are proposing $2.5 trillion to $3 trillion in measures to reduce the budget deficit, including revenue increases and significant cuts to Medicare, congressional aides told Reuters.
(Photo: CC Flickr | Fifth World Art) The plan was unveiled on Tuesday at a closed-door meeting of a special 12-member congressional panel, the so-called "super committee", that is tasked with finding at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years.
It was the first formal proposal by Democrats on the committee and is aimed at galvanizing talks that are quickly running up against a Nov. 23 deadline.
The congressional aides did not say why Democrats were proposing such a big deal, but Democratic congressional leaders have repeatedly called on the committee to go beyond its mandate to fix the country's fiscal mess.
According to congressional sources, the plan includes a roughly equal mix of spending cuts and revenue increases; between $200 billion and $300 billion in new economic stimulus spending that would be paid for with lower interest payments from reducing deficits; and around $400 billion in Medicare savings, with half coming in benefit cuts and the other half in cuts to healthcare providers.
(Editing by Sandra Maler)
(Photo: CC Flickr | Fifth World Art) The plan was unveiled on Tuesday at a closed-door meeting of a special 12-member congressional panel, the so-called "super committee", that is tasked with finding at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years.It was the first formal proposal by Democrats on the committee and is aimed at galvanizing talks that are quickly running up against a Nov. 23 deadline.
The congressional aides did not say why Democrats were proposing such a big deal, but Democratic congressional leaders have repeatedly called on the committee to go beyond its mandate to fix the country's fiscal mess.
According to congressional sources, the plan includes a roughly equal mix of spending cuts and revenue increases; between $200 billion and $300 billion in new economic stimulus spending that would be paid for with lower interest payments from reducing deficits; and around $400 billion in Medicare savings, with half coming in benefit cuts and the other half in cuts to healthcare providers.
(Editing by Sandra Maler)
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