国际英语新闻:Competing US Deficit Reduction Proposals Debated

The plan leaves Medicare and other so-called entitlement programs largely untouched. Instead, it would cut nearly $900 billion in defense spending and more than $300 billion from non-defense expenditures over 10 years. The Conrad proposal assumes lower projected interest payments from a reduction in the growth of America’s national debt.

Senator Conrad says a balanced approach of spending cuts and tax increases is required to put America’s fiscal house in order. “Spending is the highest is has been as a share of GDP [gross domestic product] in 60 years. Yes, we have a spending problem. But it is not exclusively a spending problem. Because revenue as a share of GDP is the lowest it has been in 60 years," he said.

Republicans blasted the Conrad plan as a ploy to force U.S. taxpayers to foot the bill for out-of-control spending by an ever-expanding federal government. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said, “We are not going to further enable that model of government by shaking down the American people for more money at a time when they can least afford it.”

For their part, Democrats accuse Republicans of shielding the wealthy from sacrifice so that the burden of deficit reduction falls soley on the middle class and the poor. New York Democratic  Senator Charles Schumer said, “A budget agreement cannot be considered bold or comprehensive unless it asks millionaires, billionaires and wealthy corporations to contribute to deficit reduction. They do not have to do the whole thing, but they have got to do their share.”

Neither the Ryan nor the Conrad plans are likely to become law. But analysts see the proposals as useful tools in the broader budget debate. Maya McGuineas heads the non-partisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. “The Paul Ryan plan is much more conservative and it focuses all on spending cuts. The Conrad plan is much more progressive and very tax-heavy. And so now you have the two bookmarks or ending points on the [political] spectrum. And hopefully now we can move more towards how you compromise between those two kinds of plans," she said.

Compromise remains elusive, as successive meetings between President Obama and congressional leaders have demonstrated.