Official: Dems Reject Latest GOP Offer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A congressional official says Democrats on the deficit-cutting supercommittee have rejected a last-ditch offer from the Republicans that would curb deficits by $545 billion over the next decade.
The latest development raised serious doubts about the 12-member bipartisan panel reaching an agreement by Wednesday's deadline.
Democrats called it a "halfway" proposal and said it was unbalanced because it included just $3 billion in tax revenue.
The panel's mandate is to produce a plan to cut deficits by at least $1.2 trillion over 10 years. If they fail, it would trigger automatic, across-the-board cuts to the Pentagon and a wide variety of domestic programs.
The congressional official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
