Senator Rob Portman of Ohio is a republican congressional supercommittee member and he says he's trying to remain optimistic about the supercommittee reaching an agreement on budget cuts by its November 23 deadline.

"It's incredibly important that we succeed in my view," he said. "If we do not succeed in coming up with any debt reduction there is a sequester of $1.2 trllion that will go into effect."

In a conference call with Ohio reporters Thursday, Portman said if the supercommittee fails, the automatic budget cuts could jeopardize America's national security.

"I think there is a serious issue as to whether the Department of Defense could sustain the level of cuts that are provided for," Portman said.

Meanwhile, Portman detailed his latest proposals to the supercommittee in relation to dealing with increased tax revenues, tax cuts and tax code reform as means to reduce the nation's deficit and increase revenues.

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