Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Friday that he is convinced President Obama wants the debt supercommittee to fail.
“I’m now convinced that the president actually believes he would be benefited by the committee not succeeding” because success would step on his story line that we can’t do anything on a bipartisan basis,” Mr. McConnell said.
The Kentucky Republican’s comment comes as a group of Republican senators sent a letter Friday, opposing any attempts to increase revenue. The letter, circulated by South Carolina U.S. Senator Jim DeMint, Republican of South Carolina, said that any deficit-reduction deal should also “balance our budget within 10 years, place entitlements on a path to fiscal solvency” and include “comprehensive tax reform that lowers rates and promotes economic growth.”
By Thanksgiving week, the committee must come up with at least $1.2 trillion in debt cuts across virtually all federal programs, and if it reaches a plan, the House and Senate must take it up on a simple up-or-down vote.
