WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has an ally in Rep. Sean Duffy when it comes to reforming the tax code and closing loopholes for corporations.

The freshman member of the House of Representatives said he also agrees with Obama on the need to make some changes to Medicaid and Medicare so those programs will be available to future generations.

But like most Republicans reacting to the president's $3 trillion proposal to reduce the nation's debt Monday, Duffy said he and Obama part ways on raising taxes on wealthy Americans.

"Blindly raising taxes is not going to help grow the economy and keep our people employed," said Duffy, of Ashland.

The congressman said he agrees that corporations and wealthy Americans should pay their fair share in taxes. But, he said, the best way to achieve that is through reforming the tax code, not raising taxes.

"If we raise taxes on GE (General Electric), well, they don't pay anything anyway," Duffy said. "That's crazy. Let's close the loopholes. Corporations have all these loopholes and nooks and crannies where they hide their money. We need to root them out."

Obama said his plan to reduce the debt also would pay for his $447 billion jobs stimulus initiative. Obama would cut farm subsidies, reduce fraud and waste in Medicare and Medicaid and make other adjustments in those programs.

He proposes changing retirement benefits for federal workers and eliminating tax breaks for individuals earning more than $200,000 a year and families with incomes of more than $250,000. He also calls for a special tax on millionaires dubbed the "Buffett Rule" after billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who has supported a tax increase on the richest Americans.

Obama said he was willing to work with lawmakers to reform the tax code "to make it simpler, make it fairer and make America more competitive. But any reform plan will have to raise revenue to help close our deficit."

In addition, Obama said, reform should follow a simple principle that prevents middle-class Americans from paying more taxes than billionaires.

"Warren Buffett's secretary shouldn't pay a higher tax rate than Warren Buffett," Obama said.

Obama's call for tax revenues sets the stage for another showdown with Republican leaders in Washington, including House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio. Boehner said last week any proposal for tax increases would be off the table.

Rather than increase taxes, Duffy and other Wisconsin Republicans say, Obama should concentrate on eliminating regulations the lawmakers say are stifling job creation.

Both Rep. Reid Ribble, R-Sherwood, and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., are authors of legislation in their respective chambers that would impose a moratorium on federal regulations until the unemployment rate drops below 7.8 percent, the rate when Obama took office.

Ribble said Republicans and Obama should focus on those areas in which they agree, such as reforming the tax code and reducing the burden of regulations.

"Those types of things where we can get agreement on, let's go ahead and do as much of it as we can," Ribble said. "As for spending another $450 billion, that's going to be a hard sell around here."

Ribble, a former roofing contractor, said while he also agrees Americans should pay their fair share in taxes, he's "somewhat nervous about it in terms of how you get there. We have to be careful we don't craft tax reform that actually penalizes poor people."

Johnson, whose staff has culled from the work of others recommendations for $1.4 trillion in spending cuts, said Obama's plan to increase revenues would stunt economic growth because many of the individuals who would see their taxes increase are small-business owners.

"Unfortunately, President Obama simply doesn't understand the private sector," Johnson said. "He doesn't understand how to grow the economy and stimulate jobs."

Johnson said Obama's call for more taxes on the rich contradicts his support for reforming the tax code to make American corporations more globally competitive.

Democrats, for the most part, applauded the president's proposal. Still, some expressed reservations about Obama's plans for Medicare and Medicaid.

"This plan ensures that all Americans contribute their fair share by reducing tax loopholes and exclusions that allow the richest Americans to game the system," said Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee. "I look forward to analyzing the plan to ensure that Medicare and Medicaid benefits for poor and middle class Americans are not reduced."

Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., said he was still reviewing Obama's plan but was pleased to see it includes his proposal to open up access to generic drugs. He said the initiative "would save the government $2.68 billion and consumers billions more."

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