Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Ky., a member of the deficit reduction Supercommittee, described himself as “cautiously optimistic” that the bipartisan group would reach a deal before the automatic trigger initiates across-the-board cuts.
“There has been progress,” Toomey said today during an appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. “There are very substantive discussions going on virtually every day, and I remain cautiously optimistic that we’ll reach an agreement.”
Toomey said that entitlement and tax reform are “a topic of discussion every day” for the Supercommittee. “We know broadly speaking of what needs to be done and it’s a question of whether there’s the political will to do it,” he said. “As I say, I’m hopeful that we’ll get there,” Toomey added.
On the topic of tax reform, Toomey said that he’d like to pass individual tax reform, “but there seems to be increasing consensus about the corporate side [of tax reform],” although he did not specify that there is “increasing consensus” about corporate tax reform on the Supercommittee.
Asked about Republican opposition to Obama’s jobs proposals, Toomey explained that it’s “because these jobs bills haven’t worked and they’re not going to work.” He added, “I don’t think you can go and and the government can go out and conjure up demand from the clear blue sky and thereby create all this economic growth.”
You can see the full Toomey segment below.
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