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House Dem offers $2 trillion deficit cutting plan

Rep. Michael Quigley, via Wikimedia Commons.
Rep. Michael Quigley, via Wikimedia Commons.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- A U.S. House Democrat has submitted a $2 trillion deficit reduction plan to the bipartisan supercommittee tasked with finding $1.5 trillion in savings.

Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois Thursday submitted his budget plan to the 12 newly appointed members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, saying his blueprint would give the panel a "running start" as it develops an austere budget due by Thanksgiving, The Hill reported.

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Quigley's plan proposes 60 steps, including spending cuts and revenue hikes, to reduce deficit spending by $2 trillion in the next decade.

"If the supercommittee is going find $1.5 trillion more in deficit reductions, they are going to need to wipe the slate clean of partisan politics and sacred cows," Quigley said in a statement.

The proposal specifies $700 billion in defense cuts, including troop reductions in Europe and Asia. Among other things, Quigley's blueprint would allow the federal government to negotiate drug prices under Medicare's prescription drug program.

He said his proposal would save hundreds of billions of dollars by cutting oil company subsidies and closing tax loopholes for companies doing business overseas. He would also erase tax credits for vacation homes.

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"This isn't the Democratic proposal and this isn't the Republican proposal," Quigley said. "This is a necessary, commonsense proposal that allows the government to pay our debts and move forward in a fair, bipartisan and transparent way."

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