A bipartisan group of 100 U.S. House members went big today — following the lead of Reps. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, and Heath Shuler, D-N.C.
They delivered a long-awaited letter to a House-Senate "supercommittee" urging an aggressive deficit cutting plan. And, they said, "all options for mandatory and discretionary spending and revenues must be on the table."
The supercommittee has until Thanksgiving week to come up with a $1.2 trillion deficit cutting plan. The bipartisan House group — 40 Republicans and 60 Democrats — wants a $4 trillion plan to take a deeper cut out of the deficit and prevent additional U.S. credit downgrades.
"This letter is signed by conservative, moderate and liberal members of the House, and while their political philosophies may differ, they all understand the urgency that our national debt crisis represents," said Simpson in a news release. "They understand that the supercommittee represents our best, and possibly only, chance to make the real reforms needed to return our country to fiscal health."
This is a gutsy play by the signees — but, as I said on my blog and column last week, it's an especially risky move by Simpson. By supporting all options for deficit reduction, including new revenues, he exposes himself to a challenge from the right, in a closed GOP primary in May. Credit to Simpson for standing on principle, and advocating a realistic approach to deficit reduction.
Here's the text of the news release:
Washington, D.C. — Congressmen Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, and Heath Shuler, D-N.C., are leading a 100-member strong bipartisan effort to send a simple but important message to the Joint Select Committee on the Deficit Reduction, known as the "supercommittee:" Go big. The 100 bipartisan members of Congress sent a letter to the supercommittee with the simple and direct message that everything should be on the table and the goal should be closer to $4 trillion rather than the $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction required under the Budget Control Act.
“This letter is signed by conservative, moderate, and liberal members of the House, and while their political philosophies may differ, they all understand the urgency that our national debt crisis represents. They understand that the supercommittee represents our best, and possibly only, chance to make the real reforms needed to return our country to fiscal health,” said Simpson. “I commend Rep. Shuler for his tireless efforts to gather support for this letter. Heath understands that this is the time to act, and the respect he has among his colleagues and his ability to build consensus have made him a crucial partner in this important effort.”
“I am so proud of all of my colleagues who signed this letter for their courage to put country before political parties and do what is right for the fiscal future of our nation,” said Shuler. “Many believed the House could never come together to provide the real solutions and leadership our nation needs to get on a fiscally sustainable path. We are here today to show that we can. I applaud Rep. Simpson for his hard work and steadfast determination to make this bipartisan effort successful. He is a visionary leader and true statesman, and we need more people like him in Congress.”
And here is the text of the letter to the supercommittee:
Dear Congressman Hensarling, Senator Murray, and Members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction,
We write to 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.
Sincerely,
1. Andrews (D-NJ)
2. Barrow (D-GA)
3. Bass (R-NH)
4. Bishop, Tim (D-NY)
5. Boren (D-OK)
6. Boswell (D-IA)
7. Cardoza (D-CA)
8. Carney (D-DE)
9. Carter, John (R-TX)
10. Castor (D-FL)
11. Chandler (D-KY)
12. Cleaver (D-MO)
13. Coble (R-NC)
14. Cole (R-OK)
15. Connolly (D-VA)
16. Cooper (D-TN)
17. Costa (D-CA)
18. Crenshaw (R-FL)
19. Cuellar (D-TX)
20. Davis (D-IL)
21. DeFazio (D-OR)
22. DeGette (D-CO)
23. Dent (R-PA)
24. Dicks (D-WA)
25. Dold (R-IL)
26. Duncan (R-TN)
27. Emerson (R-MO)
28. Fattah (D-PA)
29. Fitzpatrick (R-PA)
30. Fortenberry (R-NE)
31. Garamendi (D-CA)
32. Gosar (R-AZ)
33. Grimm (R-NY)
34. Hanna (R-NY)
35. Harper (R-MS)
36. Higgins (D-NY)
37. Himes (D-CT)
38. Hoyer (D-MD)
39. Kelly, Mike (R-PA)
40. Kildee (D-MI)
41. Kind (D-WI)
42. King, Peter (R-NY)
43. Kingston (R-GA)
44. Larsen (D-WA)
45. Larson (D-CT)
46. LaTourette (R-OH)
47. Lipinski (D-IL)
48. Loebsack (D-IA)
49. Long (R-MO)
50. Lummis (R-WY)
51. Maloney (D-NY)
52. Marino (R-PA)
53. Matheson (D-UT)
54. McIntyre (D-NC)
55. McKinley (R-WV)
56. Meehan (R-PA)
57. Meeks (D-NY)
58. Moran (D-VA)
59. Nunes (R-CA)
60. Owens (D-NY)
61. Pascrell (D-NJ)
62. Paul, Ron (R-TX)
63. Perlmutter (D-CO)
64. Peters (D-MI)
65. Peterson (D-MN)
66. Petri (R-WI)
67. Pingree (D-ME)
68. Platts (R-PA)
69. Polis (D-CO)
70. Price, David (D-NC)
71. Quigley (D-IL)
72. Rahall (D-WV)
73. Reed, Tom (R-NY)
74. Ribble (R-WI)
75. Roe (R-TN)
76. Rooney (R-FL)
77. Ross, Mike (D-AR)
78. Rothman (D-NJ)
79. Ruppersberger (D-MD)
80. Schiff (D-CA)
81. Schrader (D-OR)
82. Schwartz (D-PA)
83. Sewell (D-AL)
84. Shuler (D-NC)
85. Simpson (R-ID)
86. Smith, Adam (D-WA)
87. Stutzman (R-IN)
88. Sullivan (R-OK)
89. Terry (R-NE)
90. Thompson, Mike (D-CA)
91. Tsongas (D-MA)
92. Turner, Bob (R-NY)
93. Visclosky (D-IN)
94. Walz (D-MN)
95. Watt (D-NC)
96. Welch (D-VT)
97. Whitfield (R-KY)
98. Wolf (R-VA)
99. Yarmuth (D-KY)
100.Young (R-AK)
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