Wolf Among Those Urging Supercommittee to "Go Big"
Contact: Dan Scandling
Joe McNulty
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WOLF AMONG THOSE URGING SUPERCOMMITTEE TO ‘GO BIG’
Washington, D.C. (November 2, 2011) – Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) today announced he is among the 100 House Members who signed a bipartisan letter to the deficit reduction “supercommittee” urging it to “go big” and cut as much as $4 trillion from the federal deficit, more than triple its mandate.
“Every member of Congress and the president knows the dire economic situation facing our country,” said Wolf, who for more than five years has pushed bipartisan legislation to set up an independent commission to develop a comprehensive deficit reduction package that would require an up-or-down vote by the Congress.
“We always say we want to leave our country better than we found it but if we do not do something dramatic to change course, the debt burden we are facing will crush future generations,” Wolf said. “Every penny of the federal budget will go to interest on the debt and entitlement spending by 2028. Every penny. That means no money for our national defense. No money for homeland security. No money to fix our nation’s crumbling infrastructure. No money for cancer research.”
Wolf has repeatedly said that the enormity of the crisis demands that everything be on the table for discussion – all entitlement spending, all domestic discretionary spending and tax policy, particularly reforms to make the tax code more simple and fair and free from special interest earmarks.
Below is the text of the letter signed by Wolf and the bipartisan group to Rep. Jeb Hensarling and Sen. Patty Murray, co-chairs of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit reduction:
Dear Congressman Hensarling, Senator Murray, and Members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction,
We write to you as a bipartisan group of representatives from across the political spectrum in the belief that the success of your committee is vital to our country’s future. We know that many in Washington and around the country do not believe we in the Congress and those within your committee can successfully meet this challenge. We believe that we can and we must.
To succeed, all options for mandatory and discretionary spending and revenues must be on the table. In addition, we know from other bipartisan frameworks that a target of some $4 trillion in deficit reduction is necessary to stabilize our debt as a share of the economy and assure America’s fiscal well-being.
Our country needs our honest, bipartisan judgment and our political courage. Your committee has been given a unique opportunity and authority to act. We are prepared to support you in this effort.