The organizations’ letter comes just days after President Obama, in a news conference, made his case that the public is “sold” on including fresh revenues in any deficit-reduction deal that would allow the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling to be raised by Aug. 2.
For their part, House Republicans are planning this week to vote on the “Cut, Cap and Balance” plan popular among conservatives, which would allow a debt-ceiling increase only after Congress passed spending caps and a balanced-budget amendment.
{mosads}Still, even with the two parties seemingly digging in, administration officials have expressed confidence of late that the debt limit will be increased before the early August deadline. In the Senate, McConnell and Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) are currently negotiating over a contingency plan for raising the ceiling.
In their letter, the conservative groups call for tax reform to be cut from the deficit-reduction negotiations, saying that ditching tax credits and deductions could be used to pay for lower rates and that any overhaul of the tax code should be revenue-neutral.
Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform oversees the “Taxpayer Protection Pledge,” which states that a signer must oppose the elimination of tax expenditures unless that move is coupled with at least a dollar-for-dollar reduction in tax rates.