http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/2chambers/post/boehner-tax-increases-off-the-table-for-debt-supercommittee/2011/09/15/gIQAGAjZUK_blog.html Very surprising, I know.
Boehner is slated to deliver his address at 1 p.m. Thursday before an audience of business leaders at the Ronald Reagan Building in downtown Washington. And just as his early May address before the Economic Club of New York kicked off the debate over raising the country’s debt ceiling over the summer, the speaker’s remarks Thursday will help set the stage for the current negotiations on handling the debt and unemployment crises.
According to his office Boehner will argue that the panel should lay the groundwork for comprehensive tax reform – including the closing of some tax loopholes – as well as pursue reforms of entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, as House Republicans outlined in their fiscal 2012 budget earlier this year.
The two parties have often been at odds when it comes to defining what constitutes a tax increase, particularly within the context of fundamental tax reform. But by drawing a line on the tax issue in his address Thursday, Boehner becomes the first leader to weigh in with conditions for the 12-member debt “supercommittee,” which is tasked with reaching a deal before Thanksgiving to reduce deficits by $1.5 trillion over the next decade or else $1.2 trillion in across-the-board spending cuts will be enacted.
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