Committee Dems Back Big Cuts

The Democrats are going big as the supercommittee’s deadline nears. Congressional aides tell Reuters that Democrats proposed a plan to slash the deficit by $2.5 trillion to $3 trillion over the next 10 years, far more than the committee’s goal of $1.2 trillion in savings. The plan is a mix of revenue increases and spending reductions. These include cuts to Medicare, between $200 billion and $300 billion in new economic stimulus, and about $400 billion in Medicare savings—half of which comes from cuts to benefits and the other half from cuts to health-care providers. One aide said Republicans did not react favorably to the plan.