Blue Dogs send letter to members of Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, urge bipartisan cooperation
August 11, 2011
Today, members of the Blue Dog Coalition leadership sent a letter to each of the twelve members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. In the letter the Blue Dog leaders urge the committee members to pursue a balanced, bipartisan solution that will control our nation's debt and ensure that the United States remains the leader in the world economy. Following is the text of the letter.
Text of the Blue Dog leadership letter to the members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction:
As you prepare for your post on the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, we urge you to work with your colleagues to achieve a balanced, bipartisan solution that will control our nation's debt and ensure that the United States remains the leader in the world economy.
Last week, Standard and Poor's downgraded the U.S. debt from a AAA rating for the first time in our nation's history. They not only cited our dire fiscal problems, but our dysfunctional political system as the cause for the change in rating, saying "The political brinksmanship of recent months highlights what we see as America's governance and policymaking becoming less stable, less effective, and less predictable." We believe it is time for Congress to prove them wrong.
As policy makers we have a clear choice in front of us: pursue a partisan approach that caters to the political extremes, or work together as Americans to put our nation's fiscal house in order. Therefore, we urge you to put politics aside and work across party lines to develop a fair and feasible path to fixing our long-term debt.
The Blue Dog Coalition believes that Congress still has the capacity to solve big problems. We stand ready and willing to work with you to achieve a solution.
Sincerely,
Rep. Heath Shuler, Co-chair, Administration
Rep. John Barrow, Co-chair, Policy
Rep. Mike Ross, Co-chair, Communications
Rep. Dan Boren, Co-chair, Whip
Rep. Kurt Schrader, Chair, Fiscal Task Force
Rep. Jim Cooper, Vice-chair, Fiscal Task Force
Rep. Dennis Cardoza
Rep. Jim Matheson
Text of the Blue Dog leadership letter to the members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction:
As you prepare for your post on the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, we urge you to work with your colleagues to achieve a balanced, bipartisan solution that will control our nation's debt and ensure that the United States remains the leader in the world economy.
Last week, Standard and Poor's downgraded the U.S. debt from a AAA rating for the first time in our nation's history. They not only cited our dire fiscal problems, but our dysfunctional political system as the cause for the change in rating, saying "The political brinksmanship of recent months highlights what we see as America's governance and policymaking becoming less stable, less effective, and less predictable." We believe it is time for Congress to prove them wrong.
As policy makers we have a clear choice in front of us: pursue a partisan approach that caters to the political extremes, or work together as Americans to put our nation's fiscal house in order. Therefore, we urge you to put politics aside and work across party lines to develop a fair and feasible path to fixing our long-term debt.
The Blue Dog Coalition believes that Congress still has the capacity to solve big problems. We stand ready and willing to work with you to achieve a solution.
Sincerely,
Rep. Heath Shuler, Co-chair, Administration
Rep. John Barrow, Co-chair, Policy
Rep. Mike Ross, Co-chair, Communications
Rep. Dan Boren, Co-chair, Whip
Rep. Kurt Schrader, Chair, Fiscal Task Force
Rep. Jim Cooper, Vice-chair, Fiscal Task Force
Rep. Dennis Cardoza
Rep. Jim Matheson