President Barack Obama has attacked a new economic opposition Republican plan called the "Pledge to America" as political differences sharpen before U.S. Congressional elections in November.
In his weekly address, President Obama shows disdain for the "Pledge to America", which House Republicans unveiled this week. "It is grounded in the same worn out philosophy: cut taxes for millionaires and billionaires; cut the rules for Wall Street and the special interests; and cut the middle class loose to fend for itself. That is not a prescription for a better future. It is an echo of a disastrous decade we cannot afford to relive," he said.
Mr. Obama says many current Republican leaders were the architects of failed economic policies during the presidency of his predecessor George W. Bush.
The "Pledge to America" calls for a reduction in government regulation, a repeal of Mr. Obama's health care reform, which has only just started to take effect, and an end to stimulus spending.
It also calls for all of Mr. Bush's previous income tax cuts to become permanent, while Mr. Obama is proposing to end these for wealthier individuals and some businesses.
In his party's weekly message, Republican Congressman Kevin McCarthy from California promoted the "Pledge to America." "The new agenda embodies Americans' rejection of the notion that we can simply tax, borrow and spend our way to prosperity. It offers a new way forward that has not been tried in Washington, an approach focused on cutting spending, which is sadly a new idea for a Congress accustomed to always accelerating it," he said.
The policy debate takes place against the backdrop of high national debt and unemployment, even though the U.S. economy is growing again. Republicans are making the struggling U.S. economy the main issue as they campaign to gain seats in Congress in the November elections.