Washington, D.C. – Jon Summers, spokesman for Nevada Senator Harry Reid, released the following statement in response to premature Republican attacks on the President’s deficit-reduction plan, which they launched hours before the President released his plan:

“What do you do when you’re scared that the centerpiece of your entire agenda is about to be exposed as a Trojan horse for your real goal of ending Medicare and Social Security to pay for tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires? You kick and scream and create a diversion, just like Republicans are doing now by criticizing a plan they haven’t even seen yet.

“Democrats are serious about reducing the deficit and protecting seniors’ hard-earned benefits, unlike Republicans who are rejecting the president’s plan without even reading it. Republicans’ shallow, knee-jerk reaction proves that their posturing on the deficit is just an attempt to distract from their bankrupt ideas.”