Revised Deficit Reduction Plan Would Slash Debt by Trillions

The authors of a US deficit reduction plan that failed to win approval in 2010 put forward a revised version on Tuesday that would slash the deficit by $2.4 trillion over 10 years. The plan re-jigs the timeline of their earlier proposal, while encouraging lawmakers to take a step-by-step approach with the first steps being the 2011 budget talks and a recent deal on taxes. The new framework by former Republican senator Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles, ex-chief of staff to president Bill Clinton, would raise $600 billion in new revenue through reform of the tax code.