Statement by the Press Secretary

Today, Senate Democrats offered a balanced plan to avoid across the board budget cuts that will hurt kids, seniors, and our men and women in uniform. The plan includes spending cuts that won’t harm middle class families while closing tax loopholes that benefit the wealthiest.

 Now, Republicans in Congress face a simple choice. Do they protect investments in education, health care and national defense or do they continue to prioritize and protect tax loopholes that benefit the very few at the expense of middle and working class Americans?

 The American people overwhelmingly support the approach Senate Democrats are taking, especially the “Buffett Rule.” They support it because it’s simply unacceptable that the very wealthiest Americans can pay less in taxes as a share of their income than their secretaries and other middle class workers like teachers, cops and firefighters.

 We hope that Congressional Republicans back off their insistence of putting the entire burden of reducing the deficit on the backs of the middle class and seniors because, as the President said on Tuesday, the true economic engine in this country is a thriving and rising middle class. That’s how we build a strong middle class and a strong America.