Concord Coalition Honors LaTourette plus 37 House Members For Supporting Bipartisan Fiscal Reform
Friday, July 13, 2012
The Concord Coalition is honoring 38 House members for their
courage in voting for a bipartisan deficit reduction plan
introduced by Reps. Steven C. LaTourette (R-OH) and Jim Cooper
(D-TN).
These 38 House members will receive the 2012 Paul E. Tsongas
Economic Patriot Award at a dinner marking Concord's 20th
anniversary. LaTourette and Cooper will accept the award at a
Washington dinner on behalf of all of the honorees.
In addition to LaTourette and Cooper, the honorees are:
Rob Andrews (D-N.J.)
|
Jim Himes (D-Conn.)
|
Tom Reed (R-N.Y.)
|
Charlie Bass (R-N.H.)
|
Tim Johnson (R-Ill.)
|
Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.)
|
Dan Boren (D-Okla.)
|
Ron Kind (D-Wis.)
|
Allyson Schwartz (D-PA)
|
Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa)
|
Rick Larsen (D-Wash.)
|
John Shimkus (R-Ill.)
|
Ann Marie Buerkle (R-N.Y.)
|
Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.)
|
Heath Shuler (D-N.C.)
|
John Carney (D-Del.)
|
Cynthia Marie Lummis (R-Wyo.)
|
Mike Simpson (R-Idaho)
|
James Clyburn (D-S.C.)
|
Pat Meehan (R-Pa.)
|
Pete Visclosky (D-Ind.)
|
Jim Costa (D-Calif.)
|
Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.)
|
Mel Watt (D-N.C.)
|
Henry Cuellar (D-TX)
|
Collin Peterson (D-MN)
|
Frank Wolf (R-Va.)
|
Charlie Dent (R-Pa.)
|
Tom Petri (R-Wis.)
|
Don Young (R-Alaska)
|
Bob Dold (R-Ill.)
|
Todd Platts (R-Pa.)
|
Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.)
|
Jared Polis (D-Colo.)
|
Chris Gibson (R-N.Y)
|
Mike Quigley (D-Ill.)
|
Their legislation was based on the recommendations of a
bipartisan majority of the National Commission on Fiscal
Responsibility and Reform (the Simpson-Bowles commission).
LaTourette-Cooper was the only budget plan to receive bipartisan
support in the House this year.
"We are honoring Republican and Democratic House members who
this year put the national interest above political partisanship,"
said Robert L. Bixby, Concord's executive director. "Instead of
pursuing narrow agendas, they put everything on the table, made
tough choices and called for shared sacrifice. Their plan could
rein in projected deficits and put the United States on a more
responsible and sustainable course - one that would protect our
nation's strength and shield future generations of Americans from
crippling national debt."
"This is what responsible budgeting is all about," Bixby added.
"It is also what political leadership is all about. We salute the
courage it took for these 38 members of Congress to vote for this
plan in the face of strong opposition from many congressional
colleagues and a wide range of powerful special interests. We will
need more such courage and leadership in the months and years
ahead."
LaTourette spoke on the House Floor the day of the vote about
being trashed by special interests, saying "we have been viciously
attacked from the left and the right...you know you have a good
deal...when the left and the right are pounding the snot out of
you."
The Paul E. Tsongas Economic Patriot Award, named for one of
Concord's founding co-chairmen, honors those who have demonstrated
a commitment to fiscal and generational responsibility. Over the
years it has been given to individuals of varied backgrounds and
political affiliations for their lasting contributions to America's
economic health.
The Concord Coalition is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization
dedicated to fiscal responsibility. Former U.S. Senators Warren B.
Rudman (R-N.H.) and Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) serve as Concord's
co-chairs.