Boehner urges debt committee overlook tax increases

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House Speaker John Boehner drew a line in the sand on taxes on Thursday, saying that a special debt committee tasked with cutting at least $1.2 trillion from federal deficits shouldn’t consider tax hikes.

“Tax increases, I think, are off the table,” Boehner said in a speech to the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. “It’s a very simple equation. Tax increases destroy jobs. And the Joint Committee is a jobs committee. Its mission is to reduce the deficit that is threatening job creation in our country.”

The only things the 12-person super committee should tackle are spending cuts and entitlement reform, he said.

Congress established the super committee when it raised the debt ceiling this summer. It has until Nov. 23 to propose ways to reduce deficits, and Congress must hold an up or down vote by Dec. 23. That panel started meeting last week.

Boehner’s marching orders contrast with a more cordial tone the GOP has taken this past week in reaction to President Obama’s new jobs package.

But his stance warning against new tax hikes reflects the message that GOP leaders have sent this week on the president’s push for a new jobs bill.