By JIM KUHNHENN
Associated Press
WASHINGTON – Get rid of tax subsidies for oil and gas companies, the Senate’s top Democrat urged on Tuesday, staking out a deficit-cutting stance bluntly at odds with House Speaker John Boehner’s insistence on no tax increases as the parties exchanged opening debt-crisis salvos.
“It’s a no brainer,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said in support of his plan to go after thriving oil and gas companies. The idea is “batty,” retorted Boehner’s spokesman.
Boehner is calling for trillions of dollars in spending cuts, and the Democrats, too, acknowledge that spiraling annual deficits require spending restraint. But the differences over possible tax increases, even if they would spare regular wage-earners, underscore the chasm between the two parties.