Sen. Richard J. Durbin said Sunday that Republicans and others trying to improve the economy by cutting the federal deficit should delay hitting the “deficit brakes” for several years.
“Don’t make deficit cuts until 2013,” Mr. Durbin, Illinois Democrat, said of “Fox News Sunday.” “History shows that hitting the ’deficit break’ too soon, as in the Great Depression, sent the country into a double-dip recession.”
He said that lawmakers eager to improve the economy should instead “dust off” the final report from President Obama’s bipartisan debt commission, which calls for spending cuts and a review of the U.S. tax code.
Mr. Durbin, assistant majority leader and a commission member, said the code allows for roughly $1 trillion in deductions each year.
• Joseph Weber can be reached at jweber@washingtontimes.com.old.
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