Romney calls sequestration deal a mistake

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Mitt Romney said Republicans in Congress made a mistake by signing an agreement to avert a default on the U.S. debt because of its effect on defense spending.

Appearing Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," the Republican presidential nominee said the deal was "a big mistake" because it included sequestration provisions for automatic steep cuts in the U.S. defense budget.

"I want to maintain defense spending at the current level of the GDP," Romney said. "This sequestration idea of the White House, which is cutting our defense, is an extraordinary miscalculation in the wrong direction."

Romney said the best route for the economy was his tax platform, which he said would energize the job market and increase government tax revenues. He insisted his goal was not to reduce taxes on the wealthy -- an across-the-board tax reduction would also include the elimination of "some of the loopholes and deductions at the high end."

"I'm not going to increase the tax burden on middle income families," Romney said. "It would absolutely be wrong to do that."