Senator on debt commission opposes reduction plan, saying it paints 'big red target' on rural

A leading Democratic senator says he will oppose the federal debt reduction recommendations from the Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform because they are anti-rural. Montana Sen. Max Baucus, a congressional representative on the commission, said the proposal paints a "big red target on rural America," Jackie Calmes of The New York Times reports on The Caucus blog. Baucus is "chairman of the Senate committee that would deal with the sort of tax changes and spending cuts the plan proposes," Calmes notes.

Baucus said the recommendations would  lead to reduced retirement and health care benefits for older Americans and veterans, raise gasoline taxes and cut farm subsidies. "Baucus’ decision was long expected – he opposed the 18-member commission’s creation and participated little in its deliberations — but as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee he holds out-sized influence over the prospects for any debt reduction legislation," Calmes reports. His opposition all but ensures the 18-member commission's proposal will fall short of the 14 votes needed to send it to a vote in Congress, Calmes writes. (Read more)