By Susan Heavey
WASHINGTON--Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum made his pitch for "bold reforms and major restructuring" in the leading U.S. business newspaper on Monday, one day before primaries in Michigan and Arizona.
Santorum, in an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal, further pressed what he called his "a comprehensive pro-growth and pro-family Economic Freedom Agenda," calling for just two income tax rates, approving the controversial Keystone oil pipeline and making $5 trillion in budget cuts over five years.
The former Pennsylvania senator said he would submit the proposal in his first 100 days were he to become the Republican nominee and beat Democratic President Barack Obama in the November 6 presidential election.
"I'll work with Congress and the American people to once again create an economic environment where hard work is rewarded, equal opportunity exists for all, and families providing for their children can once again be optimistic about their future," he wrote.
On Tuesday, Santorum and rival Mitt Romney face voters in the Rust Belt state Michigan, where polls show a tight race. An average of polling data by RealClearPolitics shows Romney with a 2 percentage point lead over Santorum, and Romney is seen easily beating Santorum in Arizona.
The two are near even in national polls.
Santorum has risen as a main challenger to the former Massachusetts governor largely by focusing on his socially conservative positions like opposing gay marriage, while Romney has continued to press his business credentials.
But in making his economic pitch, Santorum blasted Romney's record and said his rival's tax plan did not go far enough.
"Attempting to distract from his record of tax and fee increases as governor of Massachusetts, poor job creation, and aggressive pursuit of earmarks, he now says he wants to follow my lead and lower individual as well as corporate marginal tax rates," he wrote.
Santorum said he would propose two income tax rates of 10 percent and 28 percent and would triple the personal deduction for children as well as eliminate the marriage tax penalty. He would also halve the corporate tax rate to 17.5 percent.
As for spending, Santorum said his budget proposals would reduce spending and cut the federal workforce.
He also said he would repeal Obama's healthcare overhaul, give Congress five free trade agreements during his first year in office, and cut entitlement programs by 10 percent.
(Editing by Doina Chiacu)
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