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GOP Supercommittee Co-Chair Jeb Hensarling Suggests He Would Reject ‘Any Penny’ In New Revenue

Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), a co-chair of the congressional supercommittee tasked with crafting a $1.5 trillion deficit reduction package, suggested that he would reject “any penny” of further tax increases in the deal currently being negotiated. Republicans on the committee so far have only offered $300 billion in revenue-increases in the form of eliminating tax deductions. Even with revenues at a 60 year low, Hensarling, who was speaking with CNBC’s Larry Kudlow, bristled at increasing static revenues (meaning he only wants revenue increases that come due to economic expansion):

HENSARLING: But listen, any penny of increased static revenue is a step in the wrong direction. We can only balance that with pro-growth reforms, and frankly the Democrats have never agreed to that. So I don’t know how many times I can tell you, that agreement’s not going to happen.

KUDLOW: I appreciate the honesty.

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Despite new reports showing how the government subsidizes the rich, Hensarling makes clear that he would oppose efforts to close loopholes in the tax code or raise tax rates on billionaires as part of a deficit reduction package. Bloomberg News reported today that Democrats on the committee are already scaling back their revenue demands.