Reid: Boehner’s proposal ‘flunks the test of balance’

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) deficit-reduction plan “flunks the test of balance,” Monday evening.

Reid also said the GOP plan protects millionaires at the expense of the middle class.

“To protect millionaires, Speaker Boehner’s offer would force middle class families to pay higher taxes,” Reid said. “Raising taxes on the middle class is bad policy and flunks the test of balance.”

Reid has called for Boehner to hold a vote on the Senate-passed Middle Class Tax Cuts Act, which would extend the Bush-era tax rates for families making less than $250,000 a year.

“To protect the middle class while reducing the deficit, simple math dictates that tax rates must rise on the top two percent of taxpayers next year,” Reid said. “The sooner Republicans grasp that reality, the sooner we can avoid the fiscal cliff.”

Boehner released his plan Monday in response to President Obama’s plan, which was released last week. Boehner's plan would cut $2.2 trillion through spending cuts, entitlement reforms and $800 billion in new tax revenue.

“Democrats are willing to compromise, but any agreement must protect the middle class,” Reid said in a statement Monday evening. “We have also been clear that we have no intention of kicking the can down the road.

“Republicans have made an offer, but now it is time for them to get serious about forging a balanced approach.”

Lawmakers are working to avoid the fiscal cliff, which is set to effect at the beginning of next year when the Bush-era tax rates expire and sequestration take effect.

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