July 20th, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today blasted a non-binding proposal in the Senate as insufficient to meet the nation’s debt crisis:
“Senator Tom Coburn, a member of the ‘Gang of Six,’ has admitted that the bill, if all of its $3.7 trillion in savings over ten years were even realized, would only represent 40 percent of the solution to restoring order to the nation’s fiscal house. Coburn said even if enacted, Congress is ‘going to have to change it because this is just 40 percent of the way.’ Only 40 percent of a solution is no solution at all, it is accepting failure when there is no margin for error.
“Moody’s has already warned that the McConnell plan, which only vaguely promises $1.5 trillion in savings, would not prevent a downgrade, as it falls short of its recommended minimum consolidation of $4 trillion over ten years. It is likely the ‘Gang of Six’ plan will not avoid a downgrade either, because it defers much of its work to congressional committees, putting off the date any cuts would even be voted on. In order to reassure credit markets, Congress needs to make big cuts now and put the nation on the path to a balanced budget — before Washington turns into Athens.
“To his credit, Senator Coburn has offered a real program that cuts borrowing by $9 trillion over ten years, and is a brilliant piece of work. But even he acknowledges that he only has but a handful of supporters.
“That means the Senate has but one credible option in front of it, it is the bipartisan ‘Cut, Cap, and Balance’ plan that will cut borrowing by $5.8 trillion over ten years and send a Balanced Budget Amendment to the states. Any plan that contemplates less savings, defers the hard work to back-room ‘commissions’ and stacked committees, and fails to balance the budget should not even merit consideration. S&P has given us 90 days to avert a downgrade, meaning we need to act now, not kick the can down the road again.
“Every single Republican senator is a cosponsor of the Balanced Budget Amendment. So, they should get behind the one bill, ‘Cut, Cap, and Balance,’ that would force a vote on it, sending it to states for ratification. Congress needs to act before the debt becomes so large it cannot possibly be paid back. This is a ticking time bomb that we are running out of time to disarm.”
Attachments:
“Harry’s Problem,” By ALG Senior Editor Robert Romano, July 20th, 2011 at http://netrightdaily.com/2011/07/harry-reids-debt-ceiling-problem/
“‘Cut, Cap, and Balance’ or Bust,” By ALG President Bill Wilson, July 19th, 2011 at http://netrightdaily.com/2011/07/cut-cap-and-balance-or-bust/
ALG Letter to Members of Congress, July 14th, 2011 at www.getliberty.org/files/LetterCutCapBalance7-14-11.pdf
“The New Danger to U.S. Independence,” by ALG President Bill Wilson, June 30th, 2011. http://blog.getliberty.org/default.asp?display=3463
Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.
###