GOP supercommittee member dismisses Obama plan as political manuevering

By Peter Schroeder - 09/19/11 11:37 AM ET

Supercommittee member Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) accused the president of playing politics with his latest deficit-reduction proposal by pushing higher tax rates.

While the panel will weigh the president's proposal, Toomey has already come out against one of its biggest revenue raisers — rate increases on the nation's wealthiest taxpayers.

Toomey may be the most conservative lawmaker on the 12-member panel, but he said it was "reassuring" to see the president acknowledge the nation's "severe debt problem." However, he made clear he did not consider the president's plan, in particular its tax increases, a viable option.

"His deficit reduction strategy sometimes seems more defined by political posturing," he said in a statement. "We do not have time to waste on political games and pushing big tax increases that will only make our economy weaker for all Americans."

Despite his strong critique of the president's plan, Toomey sought to downplay any partisan rift already emerging on the bipartisan supercommittee, maintaining that he is "firmly committeed" to finding a solution to the nation's deficit.

President Obama rolled out his recommendations for the supercommittee Monday morning from the White House Rose Garden.

His plan would cut the deficit by $3 trillion, and also would reform the tax code. About half a trillion dollars in savings would come from changes to Medicare and Medicaid. More than a trillion in revenue would be raised by allowing tax cuts for the nation's top earners to expire at the end of the year, as well as limiting tax deductions for taxpayers making more than $250,000 a year. The president is also calling for more tax loopholes and specialized tax breaks to be trimmed from the code.

The supercommittee is charged with finding at least $1.2 trillion in deficit cuts by Thanksgiving.