Congressman Fattah Challenges Republicans: Support a Real Debt Free America Plan

WASHINGTON, April 15, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA), a member of the House Appropriations Committee and author of H.R., 1125, the Debt Free America Act, issues the following statement on House passage today of the Republican budget plan written by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin):

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"Last Sunday on 'Meet the Press,' Congressman Paul Ryan described his budget plan in these words: 'Pay off this debt.  This plan using CBO numbers gets the debt paid off. We want to give our children a debt-free nation.  That's what this plan does.'

"The budget does lots of things, including the destruction of Medicare as we know it, which is why I voted NO today.

"One thing that the Congressional Budget Office says this budget does not do is create a debt-free nation for our children. The CBO says the Republican budget plan borrows $8 trillion over 10 years, doesn't come into balance until 2040, and requires 75 years to pay off the national debt.  

"If the goal is to get our nation out of crippling debt, I have offered a serious proposal: H.R. 1125, the Debt Free America Act. It calls for a penny on the dollar transaction tax on most transactions in the economy with a rebate on incomes under $250,000. It retires the national debt within 10 years and shows the way to overhauling our tax system. This is the legislation that I asked the House Rules Committee to include in the budget plan. (Click here for Fattah testimony before the Rules Committee and here for text and description of H.R. 1125). 

"It is critically important that when we arrive at 'Grand Bargain' on spending, tax and entitlement reform, it must include a plan to pull our nation out of debt. The Debt Free America Act is such a plan. It provides the legacy of a debt free nation for our children and our children's children."

SOURCE Office of Congressman Chaka Fattah

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