Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) released a sharply worded statement Wednesday criticizing a top White House adviser for supporting the creation of a national sales tax to help offset the burgeoning federal deficit.

Paul Volcker, chairman of President Barack Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board, recently argued for the implementation of a value-added tax akin to the type of national sales tax charged on products and services in many European countries. Grassley, the ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee, blasted Volcker’s suggestion in a refrain likely to be repeated by Republicans as the midterm elections draw near.

Volcker served as Federal Reserve chairman under Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. Grassley is up for re-election this year.

Grassley called the VAT “a large, misguided new tax” intended to offset a spending surge.

“If the President wants to add completely new layers of taxation, then he should take this issue before the American people when he runs for re-election,” Grassley stated. “The Administration and the Democratic leadership are asking the American taxpayer to make up for their inability to do what every responsible American household does, and that is to live within their means.”