Message from Congressman Mike Ross

Congressman Mike Ross receives an award in Hope on September 28 from the American Ambulance Association for his work helping first responders.Earlier this summer, Congress passed a bipartisan, compromise agreement – known as the Budget Control Act of 2011 – to raise the debt ceiling in two stages by 2013. The new law cuts spending by more than it increases the debt limit and it does not raise any taxes. It also protects important services like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans’ benefits.

Specifically, the Budget Control Act will reduce the deficit by more than $2 trillion over the next 10 years. To do so, it directly specifies $917 billion in deficit cuts now and requires at least an additional $1.2 trillion in savings by Dec. 23, 2011. Tasked with finding these deficit cuts is the 12-member, bipartisan and bicameral Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction, also known as the “Super Committee.”

According to the new law, the Super Committee must recommend a plan to Congress by Nov. 23, 2011, that cuts the deficit by at least $1.2 trillion in ten years. Then, Congress has until Dec. 23, 2011, to pass the plan on a straight up-or-down vote, meaning no amendments and no filibusters allowed. If Congress fails to pass the plan or comes up short, then across-the-board spending cuts would automatically take effect, split evenly between defense and non-defense spending. Social Security or Medicare are strictly off limits and cannot be part of these automatic cuts.

It’s true the Super Committee has a big task ahead of them. But, they have an even bigger opportunity. With Congress and the public paying close attention to our deficits and debt, now is the time to get things done. So, my question to them is, “Why stop at $1.2 trillion?”

In September, I joined my colleagues in the fiscally conservative, Democratic Blue Dog Coalition in urging the Super Committee to go bigger and bolder. I believe the Super Committee should report a plan to Congress that would truly stabilize the debt as a share of the economy and cut the deficit by $4 trillion over the next 10 years.

As I stated in the letter, the roadmaps to achieve this goal are plentiful and bipartisan. In March, I helped draft the “Blue Dog Benchmarks of Fiscal Reform,” which would cut the deficit by $4 trillion over ten years, stabilize the debt and reduce the size of government. These benchmarks were based on the Fiscal Commission Report, but there are other large, bipartisan plans that achieve the same goals. The ideas are out there. Now we just need to prove that Congress has the political will.

I have also urged Congress to protect middle class families, seniors and our veterans throughout this entire process. We absolutely cannot reduce the deficit by cutting seniors’ benefits or by raising taxes on middle class families. This is not what I want and this is not what the American people want. There is no one silver bullet that will get our nation’s fiscal house back in order. We didn’t get into this mess overnight and we’re not going to get out of it overnight. We need a bipartisan, comprehensive solution that includes drastic spending cuts, major tax code reform and long-term economic growth that creates more private-sector jobs for more Americans.

The Super Committee and Congress must be willing to work together, listen to each other and the American people to get the job done. No one side has a monopoly on good ideas and I will continue to work with both Democrats and Republicans to reduce our deficit, get our economy back on track and put more Americans back to work.