WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Connecticut), Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia), Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and Mark Pryor (D-Arkansas) today sent a letter to the co-chairs of the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates requesting that the first of the three officially-sponsored debates, which will address
domestic policy, devote specific attention on how the candidates would get our fiscal house in order.  

“We request that you ask the presidential candidates which of the recommendations of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform they would adopt as part of their plan to reduce the deficit,” wrote the senators.  “We hope that such a debate would begin a national discussion that results in a consensus that both of our major national parties can endorse to reduce the deficit and place our nation’s economy on a path to future growth.”

Text of the letter is below and a signed PDF is attached.

Dear Mr. Farenkopf and Mr. McCurry:

We write as Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, who all agree on one thing:  the nearly $16 trillion national debt, which is growing by almost $2 trillion per year, is one of the great moral issues and threats facing our nation.

In light of the gravity of this issue, we believe that the Debate Commission should ask each presidential candidate to devote specific and extensive attention to the question of how the candidates would get our nation’s fiscal house back in order during the first debate dedicated to domestic policy.

Specifically, we request that you ask the presidential candidates which of the recommendations of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform they would adopt as part of their plan to reduce the deficit. As part of this discussion, we believe that it would be essential to engage the candidates in a detailed discussion of
their priorities for tax and entitlement reform.

We hope that such a debate would begin a national discussion that results in a consensus that both of our major national parties can endorse to reduce the deficit and place our nation’s economy on a path to future growth.