–Lawmakers Tell Deficit Panel ‘All Options’ Must Be on Table
–60 Democrats, 40 Republicans Sign Deficit Letter
By John Shaw
WASHINGTON (MNI) – One hundred members of the House sent a letter
Wednesday to Congress’s Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction
urging the panel to secure at least a $4 trillion deficit reduction over
a decade that includes spending cuts and revenue measures.
The letter, which was signed by 60 Democrats and 40 Republicans,
told the deficit panel that “all options for mandatory and discretionary
spending and revenues must be on the table.”
They said a deficit reduction package of $4 trillion over a decade
is needed to “stabilize our debt as a share of the economy and assure
America’s fiscal well-being.”
The letter said the deficit panel “can” and “must” succeed.
At a briefing announcing the release of the letter, House Minority
Whip Steny Hoyer, a Democrat from Maryland, said the letter is meant to
send a message of “urgency and support” to the deficit reduction panel.
Hoyer said a “big, balanced” agreement is needed or the nation will
suffer “wrenching, immediate and long-term” damage.
Rep. Mike Simpson, a Republican from Idaho, said “everything has to
be on the table” to cut the deficit.
“It’s time to cowboy up,” Simpson said.
The super committee is charged to submit a report to Congress by
Nov. 23, that reduces the deficit by between $1.2 trillion and $1.5
trillion for the 2012 and 2021 period.
The final package, if one is agreed to by the majority of the
panel’s 12 members, must be voted on without amendment by the House and
Senate by Dec. 23.
If the panel fails to agree on a spending cut package or Congress
rejects its plan, a budget enforcement trigger would secure $1.2
trillion in budget savings through across-the-board cuts.
The cuts would be equally divided between defense and non-defense
programs but would exempt Social Security, Medicaid and low-income
programs.
** Market News International Washington Bureau: (202) 371-2121 **
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