The top Democrat on the House Budget Committee says he believes Republicans will find at least a few things they like in President Obama’s fiscal 2016 budget plan, particularly items relating to infrastructure and defense spending.
“There are a couple of things where I hope we can find common ground,” Rep. Chris Van Hollen told CNBC on Monday.
The Maryland Democrat said there is “some overlap” between a House GOP plan and the president’s proposal for a one-time tax increase on profits made by U.S. companies overseas. The expected $238 billion raised would be used to fund repairs and improvements to roads, bridges, transit systems and freight networks at part of an overall $478 billion package to replenish the dwindling federal Highway Trust Fund.
Van Hollen said the tax increase is similar to a plan floated last year by Rep. Dave Camp when the Michigan Republican was chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.
“That may be one area of potential agreement down the road,” Van Hollen said
He also suggested that the president’s call to spend an extra $38 billion on defense spending to respond to the threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine may sit well with Republicans.
“There are also a lot of Republicans that would like to see us increase the defense and national security component of the budget. The president said he’d like to do that,” he said.
