Boehner calls tax proposal ‘fair offer’

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

House Speaker John Boehner publicly blessed a Republican deficit- reduction plan Tuesday that would raise $300 billion in additional tax revenue while overhauling the IRS code, bucking opposition by some GOP presidential hopefuls and colleagues wary of violating a long-standing point of party orthodoxy.

Boehner, the top Republican in Congress, spoke as time grew perilously short for agreement by the deficit-fighting “supercommittee.” The panel has until next Wednesday to vote on any compromise, but several officials said that in reality, perhaps as little as 48 or 72 hours are available to the six Republicans and six Democrats.

Though Boehner’s voice is important, his endorsement does not mean all Republicans will follow him or that a deal is in sight. Republicans have been unified for two decades in opposition to higher taxes, while Democrats on the supercommittee insist on additional revenue before they will agree to cuts in benefit programs like Medicare as part of a compromise.

The speaker said that the plan, outlined a week ago to Democrats on the committee, was “a fair offer.” Adding tax reform would generate economic growth, he said, speaking as the supercommittee groped uncertainly for a compromise to reduce red ink by $1.2 trillion or more over a decade.

Failure to act would trigger $1.2 trillion in automatic deficit cuts in 2013 that both sides say they want to avoid.