| Sequester |
February 27, 2013 |
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Mike Quigley, D-IL
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"There is no question we need to address our unsustainable debt and deficit. Our debt remains above 73 percent of GDP—up from 36 percent just 6 years ago—and our deficit still hovers just below $1 trillion. But the solution must be a big, balanced, and bipartisan deficit reduction plan modeled on plans like Cooper-LaTourette over a 10-year period, not the meat-ax approach of sequestration."
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| The Debt Ceiling |
February 13, 2013 |
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Mike Quigley, D-IL
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"We cannot wait to act. We are borrowing 42 cents for every dollar we spend. We have to take sensible steps to begin reducing our debt without stepping on a fragile economic recovery. We have to take steps that are big, bold, and bipartisan. That’s why I signed onto the Cooper-LaTourette bipartisan budget agreement that would have saved $4 trillion over 10 years, and that’s why my office authored a comprehensive plan to reinvent government and save taxpayers $2 trillion over the next 10 years."
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| Working Toward Bipartisan Solutions |
December 11, 2012 |
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Robert Dold, R-IL
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"Mr. Speaker, one of the great pleasures of being here is to be able to work with good friends, and I want to thank my good friend Steve LaTourette for his leadership and Jim Cooper as well for the thought of putting together the Cooper-LaTourette budget based on Simpson-Bowles, that talks about a solution that really helps us get our entitlements under control, helps raise revenues, and puts a solution on the table."
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| Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Resolution |
April 18, 2012 |
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David Cicilline, D-RI
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"There were other proposals, including one offered by Congressmen Jim Cooper (D TN) and Steven LaTourette (R OH) purportedly modeled after recommendations of the Simpson-Bowles Commission (so named after the co-chairs of President Obama’s Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform—former White House Chief of Staff under President Clinton, Erskine Bowles, and former Republican Senator Alan Simpson). The Simpson-Bowles Commission clearly depicted the unsustainable nature of our country’s deficit and debt, and delineated a number of policies for serious debate in order to improve our nation’s fiscal trajectory. However, the budget proposal offered by Representatives Cooper and LaTourette contained provisions that I believe set the wrong priorities. For example, the Cooper-LaTourette plan contained $1 trillion less in revenue increases as compared to the Simpson-Bowles Commission recommendations—further eroding the balance between revenue increases and spending reductions needed to achieve deficit reduction that does not fall disproportionately on the backs of the middle class and working families. In addition, the Cooper-LaTourette plan includes $100 billion more in discretionary program reductions than recommended by the Simpson-Bowles report, further distorting the ratio between revenue raisers and spending cuts. Furthermore, the Cooper-LaTourette proposal calls for a shift in corporate tax policy that the Treasury Department has argued would increase incentives for corporations to shift investment and jobs overseas. Lastly, the proposal from Congressman Cooper and LaTourette, like the Simpson-Bowles plan, would undermine the benefits and guarantees of Social Security and Medicare."
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| Concurrent Resolution On The Budget For Fiscal Year 2013 |
March 30, 2012 |
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Chris Van Hollen, D-MD
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"Another proposal was offered by Mr. Cooper and Mr. LaTourette. I commend these Members for offering an alternative budget. However, claims that their proposal embodied the recommendations of the Simpson-Bowles Commission are simply untrue. Most importantly, their proposal calls for significantly less revenue than Simpson-Bowles. It does this by changing the baseline used as the starting point for the revenue increase. The Simpson-Bowles baseline assumed the revenue generated by allowing the top tax rate to rise to 39 percent—as it is scheduled to do under current law. The Cooper-LaTourette proposal failed to account for that revenue. The difference is substantial—approximately $1 trillion in revenue. I believe in truth-in-advertising, and Cooper-LaTourette is very different from Simpson-Bowles. It moves the goal posts. As a result, the Cooper-LaTourette proposal has a significantly higher ratio of spending cuts to revenue increases compared to the deficit reduction in the Simpson-Bowles package. The Cooper-LaTourette plan also differs from Simpson-Bowles in other respects, such as by making deeper cuts in spending for discretionary programs. And it cuts nondefense discretionary funding by $350 billion more than required by the Budget Control Act over ten years—which is also inconsistent with Simpson-Bowles."
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