Schumer: Supercommittee won't hit deadline

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., predicted Monday the supercommittee won't reach a deal to reduce the federal deficit, and the fault will lie with Republicans.

The supercommittee faces a Nov. 23 deadline to reach an agreement to cut at least $1.2 trillion from the deficit in the next decade. There are no public indications the 12 House and Senate lawmakers are anywhere near a deal.

"I don't think ... the supercommittee is going to succeed because our Republican colleagues have said no net revenues," Schumer said Monday on MSNBC. "The American people are beginning to sniff this. They're beginning to sniff that the other side has dug in and is not compromising."

Michael Steel, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, criticized Schumer for injecting ideology into the tax issue, The Hill reported. Steel said Republicans were working to find an agreement

"So, while we oppose tax hikes (because tax hikes destroy jobs -- as even President Obama has acknowledged), Republicans, including Speaker Boehner, have been clear that they are not opposed to increased revenue as a result of tax reforms that lead to economic growth," Steel wrote in an e-mail to reporters.

Schumer, who handles messaging for Senate Democrats, said his party was willing to consider a compromise such as supporting proposals to slow down the growth of entitlement programs.

Steel said Boehner was open to restructuring the tax code in a way that would grow revenue for the government.