Congressman Kurt Schrader today joined a 100 member strong bipartisan group of representatives in releasing a letter calling for the Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction to target at least $4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next ten years as a means to balance our nation's budget and make America a more attractive place to invest and create jobs. The group, which is comprised of 60 Democrats and 40 Republicans, reiterated the message sent by a bipartisan coalition of 36 senators in September that encouraged the Super Committee to aggressively pursue responsible deficit reduction.
Schrader believes that all deficit savings need to come in a balanced and fair fashion, deriving from equal discretionary spending cuts to defense and domestic spending, increased revenue from tax reforms, and decreased long-term cost growth in entitlement programs.
"I signed this letter because there are bold, bipartisan ideas out there to stabilize our entitlements and reform our tax code that will get our nation's fiscal trajectory back on course," Schrader said. "The Super Committee needs to act on these ideas, be courageous and find the necessary deficit savings to put the U.S. back on path of fiscal responsibility, create jobs, and ensure the programs people care about stay solvent in the long-term."
Following is the text of the letter.
Bipartisan Letter to Super Committee
We write you as a bipartisan group of representatives from across the political spectrum in the belief that the success of your committee is vital to our country's future. We know that many in Washington and around the country do not believe we in the Congress and those within your committee can successfully meet this challenge. We believe that we can and we must.
To succeed, all options for mandatory and discretionary spending and revenues must be on the table. In addition, we know from other bipartisan frameworks that a target of some $4 trillion in deficit reduction is necessary to stabilize our debt as a share of the economy and assure America's fiscal well-being.
Our country needs our honest, bipartisan judgment and our political courage. Your committee has been given a unique opportunity and authority to act. We are prepared to support you in this effort.
