Washington
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On Wednesday evening during markup of Chairman Paul Ryan’s proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 Budget in the House Budget Committee, U.S. Representative Heath Shuler (D-NC), Blue Dog Co-Chair for Administration, offered an amendment calling for a balanced approach to deficit reduction that includes both spending cuts and tax reform. The amendment received bipartisan support from members of the House Budget Committee, falling just one vote short of passage.
“To responsibly address our fiscal challenges, we need a budget that puts all options on the table and takes a rational, comprehensive approach to deficit reduction,” said Rep. Shuler. “Crafting a balanced budget that puts our country on a long-term fiscally sustainable path cannot be done along party lines, and I was encouraged to see both my Democratic and Republican colleagues come together in a show of support for my amendment. This is a step in the right direction for achieving meaningful, bipartisan compromise down the road.”
Since January 2011, Rep. Shuler has been working to reach a long-term deficit reduction solution with the “Go Big” Coalition, a bipartisan group of more than 150 House and Senate Members from across the political spectrum. Rep. Shuler and other leaders of the “Go Big” Coalition are currently in the process of crafting a comprehensive deficit reduction package based on the recommendations of the Bowles-Simpson Fiscal Commission. This legislation is expected to be completed by early spring.
“Over the past year the ‘Go Big’ Coalition has made tremendous progress in bringing Democrats and Republicans together on the issue of deficit reduction, and last night we saw promising signs that even more Members of Congress are ready to embrace a balanced, bipartisan approach to fiscal reform,” said Rep. Shuler. “I will continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to reach the comprehensive deficit reduction solution we need to put stability back in the economy and move our country forward.”
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