Congressman Charles Bass

September 13, 2012

WASHINGTON – Congressman Charles F. Bass (NH-02) issued the following statement this evening after the House passed the National Security and Job Protection Act, which would repeal the across-the-board defense and non-defense spending cuts if legislation is signed into law (H.R. 5652 or another bill) to offset the automatic sequester with equal or greater cuts. The bill also requires the President to submit a plan within a month to replace the sequester with other savings.

Bass said:

"We all know that our nation faces a fiscal cliff at the end of the year that will push our country into another recession if nothing is done to remedy it. Partisan bickering in Washington has not gotten us any closer to resolving these looming issues, which include extending the current tax rates to prevent a tax increase on hardworking families and stopping sequestration, which will make very serious and hurtful cuts to national defense and valuable domestic programs that will jeopardize thousands of jobs in New Hampshire alone.

"While I applaud the end goal of today's legislation, I could not support it because we all know it does not stand a chance of being considered in the United States Senate and it relies on the flawed reconciliation package passed earlier this year that does not represent a balanced approach to addressing this problem. As I said in May when the reconciliation package passed without my support, budgets need to be tough, but they also need to be fair.

"But we know we will not reach a solution to the fiscal cliff unless we take a bipartisan approach to solving these issues in a realistic and serious manner. That's why I cosponsored and have been advocating for a bipartisan plan, modeled after the Simpson-Bowles Commission's recommendations, that will reduce the deficit by $4 trillion with a combination of spending reductions and tax reform measures that will help to broaden the tax base and lower tax rates for everyone. The plan will also eliminate the automatic defense and non-defense cuts under sequestration.

"The American people are crying out for bipartisanship and real solutions to the challenges we face, and the Simpson-Bowles budget plan is a good starting point to getting our fiscal mess – and our economy – turned back around."

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