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White House: Middle-class taxes out
by Mark Silva and updated at 3:30 pm EDT
Despite warnings from President Barack Obama's top economic advisers that new taxes for middle-income Americans cannot be ruled out, the White House insisted Monday that the president's "commitment'' to a campaign pledge to avert new taxes for those earning less than $250,000 a year holds firm.
Both Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and chief economic adviser Lawrence Summers had suggested during appearances on the Sunday morning news talk shows that tax increases cannot be ruled out for Americans earning less than the threshold that the president has set.
But White House spokesman Robert Gibbs adamantly and repeatedly insisted today that the president remains committed to his pledgewhile unable to explain why Geithner and Summers had strayed from the administration's line.
"I know the president has been clear on his commitment about this,'' Gibbs said today in the White House press briefing.
"The president's clear commitment is not to raise taxes on those making less than $250,000 a year,'' Gibbs told reporters pressing for an explanation about apparent discrepancies in the White House's message.
"I hope you'll take my reiteration of this clear commitment... in the clearest terms possible, that he is not raising taxes on those who make less than $250,000 a year,'' Gibbs said.
Pressed again about the conflicting administration comments, Gibbs told reporters: "The president made a commitment in the campaign. The president made a commitment in the campaign, he's clear about that commitment, and he's going to keep it. I don't know much more clear about the commitment I can be.''
The president, arguing that the healthcare reform which he is seeking will not only benefit the public, but also help get runaway government spending under control, has said that he will support tax increases to support his plan only for the wealthiest Americans, such as himself, earning more than $250,000.
Geithner, during an interview aired by ABC News' This Week, said that bringing the federal deficit under control remains a high priority. The annual budget deficit is projected to reach a record $1.8 trillion this year, though Obama has pledged to cut it in half by the end of his term.
Maintaining that overhauling healthcare alone won't bring the deficit under control, Geithner left open the possibility that additional tax revenue may needed.
"We can't make these judgments yet about what exactly it's going to take and how we're going to get there,'' Geithner said in the interview. "If we want an economy that is going to grow in the future, people have to understand that we have to bring those deficits down.
"It's going to be difficult... and the path to that is through health care reform,'' he said. "But that's necessary, but not sufficient. We're going to do some other things, too.''
Summers, director of the president's National Economic Council, was asked about the treasury secretary's remarks on a show that followed, CBS News' Face the Nation. "Was (Geithner) laying the groundwork here for a new round of taxes?'' host Bob Schieffer asked Summers.
No, Summers replied.
No tax increases for "middle-income Americans?" Schieffer pressed.
"Oh, there's a lot that could happen over time,'' Summers said. ".... It's never a good idea to absolutely rule things, rule things out no matter what.''
Gibbs, asked at the White House today why the president's advisers had not stated the commitment to averting new taxes for the middle class as adamantly as the White House was asserting it the following day, said drily: "They left it to me.''
The chief White House spokesman also was asked if other administration officials will be "on message'' from now on.
"Promising that everybody is going to be on message may be a bar that is too high for me to leap over,'' Gibbs said with a smile.
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