Growing Support for Bowles-Simpson
While the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (Select Committee) failed to reach an agreement on $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction, the momentum behind enacting a bipartisan, comprehensive fiscal plan based on the framework put forward by the Fiscal Commission has continued to grow.
In the wake of the Select Committee's failure, a growing number of lawmakers from across the political spectrum have voiced support for a bipartisan and comprehensive approach to solving our fiscal problems, with many of them specifically calling for reviving the Fiscal Commission's recommendations. These calls have been echoed by many editorial boards and columnists from across the country.
Below are some examples of what they've been saying.
Fiscal Commission member Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) speaks at a Nov 16th press conference held by House and Senate members of both parties, calling on the Select Committee to 'think big' on deficit reduction.
SENATORS
Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS)
“Last year, I informed President Obama that I would not vote to raise the debt ceiling unless I saw substantial reductions in spending and structural changes in the way business is conducted in Washington, D.C. Nearly one year later, here we are again with the same request –- yet the President and Congress have failed to put forward a long-term plan to address our growing fiscal crisis. The recommendations put forward by the Bowles-Simpson Commission represent a good starting point and should be seriously considered by Congress. Given the bipartisan support for many of their proposals, I am disappointed their recommendations continue to be ignored."
Press Release - 1/26/12
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV)
“In the year that I have been in Washington, only the Bowles-Simpson proposal has generated bipartisan support in both houses of Congress. While the Bowles-Simpson framework may not be perfect, it is the only proposal I have seen that provides pro-growth tax reform and long-term entitlement reform, while cutting our national debt. In that spirit, if the super committee fails, I respectfully ask that you help us prove to the American people that we can still do our job at this critical juncture. I urge you to give the entire Congress a vote on the recommendations of the Bowles-Simpson Fiscal Commission.”
Press Release – 11/21/11
Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL)
"Without at least a $1.2 trillion package of spending cuts, reforms to entitlement programs and simplification of the tax code, the US faces further credit rating downgrades, increased market volatility, and further lack of confidence in Congress," Senator Kirk said. "If the Super Committee fails to act, Congressional leaders should schedule a vote on the Bowles-Simpson proposal immediately. While neither Democrats nor Republicans fully support the proposal, it reforms the tax code and our entitlement programs in a balanced way, protecting both seniors and a pro-growth economy, while cutting our national debt. The American people sent us to Washington to work together and find solutions, not to kick the can to further generations. Voting on the Bowles-Simpson recommendations will hold Washington accountable."
Press Release – 11/21/11
Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE)
“To say that I’m disappointed is an understatement. The bipartisan panel of 12 of my House and Senate colleagues, informally known as the Super Committee, had several months to put forward a plan to reduce our nations escalating deficits by at least $1.2 trillion. They had the chance to go big and make real progress in reducing our long-term debt by even more than the $1.2 trillion threshold an approach that has been my preference for some time now. And they had a good road map on how to get there with the work of the bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform co-chaired by former Republican Senator Alan Simpson of Wyoming and President Clinton's former Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles. . . . . Despite this latest setback I refuse to give up. Getting our debt and deficit under control is critical for the well-being of our nation and economy and I will continue to encourage my colleagues and President Obama to keep working to find an agreement on a robust, balanced, and effective deficit reduction package.”
Press Release – 11/21/11
Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO)
"As one of the small group of senators who pushed two years ago to create what became the Bowles-Simpson Commission on debt and deficit reduction, I'm urging Congress to vote on the Bowles-Simpson plan. It's a balanced proposal that will make tough spending cuts, raise some new revenues, shore up Medicare and Social Security and get our nation's economy back on track."
Press Release – 11/21/11
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
"Today I call on President Obama to embrace the Bowles-Simpson plan. I also urge the Democratic leadership in the Senate and Republican leadership in the House to bring the Commission report up for a vote.”
Press Release – 11/21/11
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
“The President and Congress should now work together on a pro-growth plan to cut the debt by $4 trillion: close tax loopholes, lower tax rates, raise revenues, and save Social Security and Medicare so seniors and future generations can rely on them. The Simpson-Bowles Commission, the Domenici-Rivlin plan, and the Gang of Six proposal all offer bipartisan blueprints for how to do this.”
Press Release – 11/21/11
Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY)
“Today’s announcement that the Super Committee has failed to reach a bipartisan agreement is not the end of the road. The solutions are out there to address our $15 trillion debt and I am ready to vote on them. The Simpson-Bowles Commission, the Gang of Six, and the Domenici-Rivlin plans all show us that bipartisan solutions are possible.”
Press Release – 11/21/11
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
“I believe a majority of the U.S. Senate would support a deficit reduction plan of $4 trillion that includes spending cuts and increased revenues. This is my idea of balance, fairness and pragmatism. It would be my hope that a bold and balanced plan, such as the ‘Gang of Six’ initiative, is put on the floor and given a vote. To do nothing and let sequestration occur in 2013 is unacceptable and an abdication of responsibility by this Congress.”
Press Release – 11/21/11
Sen. Mike Johanns (R-NE)
"Ignoring our ballooning debt crisis will not make it go away. I've been encouraged with the work done by the Senate's Gang of Six and I will redouble my efforts to help them in any way possible. If we don't get a deficit reduction plan to floor of the Senate soon the consequences will affect not only job creation but shake the foundations of our economy. It's time to get our fiscal house in order."
Press Release – 11/21/11
Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT)
“While the Select Committee was unable to achieve a compromise, there remain serious bipartisan proposals on the table such as Simpson-Bowles, Gang of 6 and the Rivlin/Domenici plans. None of the three bipartisan debt reduction plans is perfect but they are all fair and effective and therefore better than doing nothing and allowing the sequester to go into effect. I, for one, would vote for any one of the three plans today. Now is the time for a bipartisan rebellion of members of Congress to come together and pass a comprehensive deficit reduction plan. Let's put it to a vote on the Senate floor before the end of this year, and show that elected officials in Washington are capable of protecting the economic future of the American people.”
Press Release – 11/21/11
Sen. James Risch (R-ID)
"The result now will be across-the-board spending cuts that will slash programs indiscriminately, and not go far enough to put the federal government on a 'glide path' to real deficit reduction, [Risch] said. Risch said he would prefer almost any other course, including the deficit reduction blueprint offered by fellow Idaho GOP Sen. Mike Crapo and his colleagues on the bipartisan Gang of Six."
Idaho Statesman – 11/21/11
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
"We have a good chance of actually getting the big package, big deficit reduction in 2012 . . . . We have a really good chance, basically along the broad outlines of Simpson-Bowles."
Meet the Press – 11/27/11
EDITORIALS & OP-EDS
Washington Post
Editorial: The Dangerous Fiscal Path that Looms - 2/1/12
"The smart path would deal with the debt in a way that is gradual, balanced between spending cuts and revenue increases and intelligently targeted rather than the current law’s bludgeon. This is the path outlined by debt reduction commissions such as Simpson-Bowles. Unfortunately, it is not the subject of the current debate."
New York Times
Thomas Friedman: Go Big, Mr. Obama - 11/23/11
"People know leadership when they see it — when they see someone taking a political risk, not just talking about doing so, not just saying, 'I’ll jump if the other guy jumps'...[w]hat would it look like if the president was offering such leadership? First, he’d be proposing a deficit-cutting plan that matches the scale of our problem — one with substantial tax reform and revenue increases, a gasoline tax, deep defense cuts and cutbacks to both Social Security and Medicare. That is the Simpson-Bowles plan, and it should be Obama’s new starting point for negotiations."
Washington Post
Fareed Zakaria: Be Thankful — Sensible Solutions Do Exist for U.S. Problems – 11/24/11
"Structural reform is crucial. We need sensible solutions to the problems of growth and deficits. But these exist. Simpson-Bowles and other commissions have already shown the way to lower deficits...The United States has problems. But unlike many other countries, it also has solutions. And since politicians won't, citizens are increasingly finding ways to propose these solutions. That's something to be thankful for - and hopeful about."
Chicago Tribune
Editorial: Think Big--Before It's Too Late - 12/3/2011
"The Simpson-Bowles report sent a message that official Washington didn't want to hear: Painful, dramatic decisions on taxes and spending had to be made right away. Financial ruin was edging closer. Do nothing, and America would go over the falls. In effect, Bowles and Simpson said, 'Attention, small thinkers. Think big, or we're sunk.' A year later, we're sunk. And Congress looks like it may be incapable of ever refloating the boat."
Des Moines Register
Editorial: It's Time to Dust Off the Simpson-Bowles Plan - 11/26/11
"The consensus following the failure of the so-called super committee last week was that it amounted to a huge missed opportunity...The real missed opportunity came a year ago when the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform delivered a report to President Obama proposing $4 trillion in deficit reductions by 2021...
Whether Democrat or Republican, voters should tell candidates they accept the fact that bringing down deficits will be a long-term proposition. It will require new tax revenues through tax reforms that eliminate loopholes and spread the tax burden equitably. It will require sacrifices across all federal departments, including Defense. It will require cutting future benefits and increasing contributions to preserve Social Security and Medicare.
These ideas are all contained in the Simpson-Bowles report. Congress should follow its recommendations. The message candidates should hear in the coming months: Don’t miss another opportunity to show the world that this nation is capable of making hard fiscal decisions today to assure prosperity for future generations."
Wisconsin State Journal
Editorial: Go Back to Bowles-Simpson - 12/1/2011
"With Congress' supercommittee failing to find agreement on a plan to ease America's soaring debt, it's time to go back to the future. Congress should dust off and vote on the bipartisan Bowles-Simpson plan from late last year. It wasn't perfect. But it remains the best, most credible plan out there to improve our nation's bottom line."
Philadelpha Inquirer
Michael Smerconish: Congress Needs a Debt Vote - 12/9/2011
"Start voting. That's my wish for the Congress when it comes to solutions regarding our nearly $15 trillion debt. Three major bipartisan efforts in Washington offered long-term solutions to our astronomical indebtedness, but none resulted in up-or-down votes in Congress that would have provided a measure of accountability for the folks at home. Simpson-Bowles was the first. After about a year of painstaking work, that bipartisan commission, made up of 18 members, could not get the requisite 14 votes to force congressional action on its plan...They left no stone unturned. No special interest was left unscarred. Yet there was no vote, so voters lack a measuring stick to judge their members of Congress on the Simpson-Bowles proposal."
USA Today
Chuck Raasch: Obama Missed the Boat to Cut the Debt - 11/18/2011
"Last December, a deficit-reduction commission appointed by President Obama recommended a combination of revenue increases by closing loopholes and tax exemptions, spending cuts and health care reforms that ostensibly would have cut deficits by $4 trillion over the coming decade...significant enough to begin to set the U.S. on a sustainable, fiscally responsible path. The plan got 11 votes in favor, seven against — three votes short of what was needed to send a formal deficit-reduction blueprint to Congress. But it had bipartisan support from pragmatists such as Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill...and realists such as Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla...
At that moment, what became known as Bowles-Simpson could have been an imperfect but powerful vehicle for Obama to re-embrace his call for bipartisanship. It would have required him to view the 2010 elections the way President Clinton viewed Democrats' loss of Congress in 1994: as a course-correcting wake-up, a fresh opportunity to do something big and bold."
Houston Chronicle
Editorial: Let's Take Another Look at Simpson-Bowles - 11/16/11
"In hindsight, the Simpson-Bowles work product included many hard but necessary steps to right the national ship. These include: cuts in the number of federal workers; increasing the costs of participating in veterans and military health care systems; increasing the age of Social Security eligibility; and major cuts in defense and foreign policy spending. They also recommend a range of tax system reforms, including funding tax rate reductions by eliminating many politically sacrosanct credits and deductions.
Failure is not an option. A fresh look at Simpson-Bowles should be."
Bozeman Daily Chronicle
Editorial: Doing the Job that Congress Couldn't - 12/2/2011
"If Congress is really interested in doing the right thing, there's one simple way to prove it: Pass the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles deficit-reduction plan. It's already vetted, scored, published and ready to go."
Yamhill Valley News Register
Editorial: Congress Should Revisit Simpson-Bowles Report - 11/26/11
"There are no easy answers to the mess we’re in, but we have a suggestion about where to start. It isn’t new — we first recommended it nearly a year ago when The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform released its report, better known as the Simpson-Bowles deficit reduction plan.
The plan deserves a critical second look. It is aptly subtitled 'The Moment of Truth'...[t]he plan failed to achieve the required super majority vote of 14— only 11 of the 18 commission members voted for formal endorsement. Still, it contains tough fiscal recommendations that could begin our recovery."
Powell (WY) Tribune
Editorial: Congress Should Focus on Deficit, Not the Next Election - 11/25/11
"The most frustrating thing about Congress’ inability to take appropriate action is that a reasonable plan was offered over a year ago by the bipartisan commission appointed by President Obama and chaired by former Sen. Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles, former President Bill Clinton’s chief of staff. A couple of weeks ago, both men testified before the “super committee” charged with finding a compromise, and they even offered a new outline designed to effect a compromise...If Congress really wants to solve the nation’s deficit problems...it will seriously reconsider the compromises suggested by Simpson and Bowles."
Bloomington (IL) Pantagraph
Editorial: Congress Shouldn't Let Itself Off the Hook – 11/23/11
"Congress must act and it need not reinvent the wheel or create another committee. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., is calling for an immediate vote on recommendations in the Bowles-Simpson proposal of nearly a year ago. A vote on at least some of its proposals for closing tax loopholes, reducing farm subsidies and addressing Medicare costs is certainly called for. Enacting even a few of those recommendations would be a start and offer hope."