Bowles Says Boehner’s Proposal Doesn’t Reflect His 2011 Plan

Former deficit commission co-chairman Erskine Bowles said the deficit-cutting plan offered today by House Republicans doesn’t reflect a proposal he offered in 2011.

House Speaker John Boehner said the Republican proposal made today was based on Bowles’s plan. Bowles said the plan he offered represented the “midpoint” of proposals made by all sides at the time.

“Circumstances have changed since then,” Bowles said in an e-mailed statement. “It is up to negotiators to figure out where the middle ground is today.” Still, he said, “Every offer put forward brings us closer to a deal.”

Bowles was former President Bill Clinton’s White House chief of staff and also was co-chairman of President Barack Obama’s deficit commission.