Republicans and Democrats Make Their Deficit Reduction Recommendations Print E-mail
olympia_capitolParties offer very different approaches to deficit reduction.

While the Joint Committee of Deficit Reduction meets to figure out how to reduce the national debt, both parties in Congress are offering their own recommendations.

Two Democratic Congressmen - Barney Frank and Sander Levin - each offered their recommendations in a letter to the committee.

Congressman Frank recommends a "big bank fee," licensing and regulation for Internet gambling, a fee for the Rural Housing Service single family loan guarantee program and more. Frank also recommends reducing spending by prohibiting Treasury officials from using Military Air Transport for Business Travel, which he says costs at least $150,000 per flight. Read Frank's letter here.

Congressman Levin points to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, as the main culprits of our rising debt. In his letter, Levin supports passing President Obama's jobs plan and cites economist Mark Zandi as estimating the plan will add two percentage points to the GDP next year, and add 1.9 million jobs while cutting the unemployment rate by a percentage point.

Levin also supports, "asking those who have done the best in the last years and decades to contribute a little more." Read Levin's letter here. 

Republicans, meanwhile, published consensus recommendations to the Join Select Committee. In it, the party calls for lower tax rates for individuals and corporations (no higher than 25 percent), repeal of Health Spending Law and tax increases, Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) repeal, a "territorial tax system," and more. 

Republicans also want the eligibility age for Medicare addressed, since our life expectancy has increased. Read the Republicans' recommendations here.