Congressman Peter Welch says he wants to be part of a bipartisan effort to pass legislation that will significantly reduce the federal budget deficit. Welch says the plan will require both new tax revenues and cuts in domestic spending programs.

Congressman Peter Welch is working to put together a bipartisan coalition of House members to support a budget deficit deal that will include new tax revenues and some changes to entitlement programs.

All three members of Vermont's Congressional delegation say President Obama's plan to reduce the federal deficit by $3 trillion over the next 10 years is a balanced approach to deal with a serious fiscal issue. But they question if it has a chance of being passed by Congress.

Senator Patrick Leahy is calling on members of the Congressional debt reduction super committee to include a war tax to pay for U.S. military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan in their final package. Leahy says the wars were never paid for and have cost the American people several trillions in additional debt.

Former Governor Howard Dean is endorsing President Obama's efforts to reach a compromise budget deficit plan. He says Republican leaders need to support higher taxes on the wealthy and Democrats need to accept some cuts in entitlement programs.

A new report says Vermont could eliminate a good part of its budget deficit by imposing a temporary income tax surcharge on very wealthy people. Some lawmakers think the plan makes a lot of sense but Governor Peter Shumlin is opposed to the idea.