WASHINGTON—(ENEWSPF)—November 10, 2010. Today, Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, the bipartisan leaders of President Obama’s Deficit Commission released a draft proposal containing many controversial deficit reduction proposals including cuts in Social Security benefits, reductions in federal spending and higher taxes for millions of Americans. Bowles is a Democrat and former Chief of Staff in the Clinton White House and Republican Simpson is the former U.S. Senator from Wyoming.
Proposals by Bowles and Simpson include:
- A gradual increase of the retirement age for Social Security benefits to age 69 by 2075.
- Smaller than anticipated annual increases for current Social Security beneficiaries.
- Elimination of the current tax deduction homeowners receive for interest paid on their mortgages.
- Cut in the Pentagon Budget and foreign aid.
- Cuts in farm subsidies.
- An increase in the gasoline tax by 15 cents a gallon to finance transportation programs.
- A three-year freeze in the pay of most federal employees and a 10 percent cut in the federal work force.
- Eliminating all congressional pet projects through the ‘earmark’ process.
- Eliminating many tax credits and deductions, including the child tax credit and the mortgage interest deduction.
- Eliminating the deduction that companies take for providing health insurance to their employees.
White House spokesperson Bill Burton said this afternoon that, “The President will wait until the bipartisan fiscal commission finishes its work before commenting.” He called the proposals “only a step in the process.”
To view the complete proposal, see: http://www.fiscalcommission.gov/news/cochairs-proposal
Sources: fiscalcommissioin.gov, and whitehouse.gov
