Supercommittee’s sides swap offers

Neither party optimistic on debt talk breakthrough

By Lori Montgomery and Rosalind S. Helderman

Washington Post / October 27, 2011

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Republicans on Congress’s deficit-reduction super-committee outlined a plan yesterday that includes spending cuts but none of the increases in tax revenue sought by Democrats, completing an initial exchange of offers that left the two sides far apart despite weeks of secret talks. Officials also said the Democratic proposal on Tuesday and the GOP counter-proposal 24 hours later both included a provision to slow the inflationary increase in future Social Security benefits, suggesting it could become part of any compromise that might emerge.

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