Statement from the Campaign to Fix the Debt

The following is a statement from Michael Bloomberg, Judd Gregg, and Ed Rendell, Co-Chairmen of the Campaign to Fix the Debt:

WASHINGTON, April 19, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- "The Campaign to Fix the Debt is encouraged by the new version of Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles's deficit reduction plan. The new proposal – put forth by America's two most respected proponents of fiscal responsibility – is big enough to begin controlling the unsustainable trajectory of our national debt, and to put it on a path downward as a share of the economy for the next decade and beyond. Simpson and Bowles's plan would reform all areas of the budget, including our overly-costly entitlement programs and our outdated, inefficient tax code. In order to succeed both politically and mathematically, any deficit-reduction agreement must confront our fiscal problems from all angles.

"Despite the heated rhetoric coming out of Washington, there are many deficit-reduction provisions for which there is a bipartisan consensus emerging. This new plan from Simpson and Bowles highlights areas of that are ripe for across-the-aisle agreement. To its authors, this new plan represents what they believe to be politically possible, and we hope that it succeeds in moving the discussion forward.

"While the Campaign to Fix the Debt does not endorse specific proposals, policymakers should take their lead from a plan like Simpson and Bowles's and strive for bipartisan agreement where it can be achieved. By including provisions that we've seen in both the President's and Congressional Republicans' budget proposals, with the release of their new plan, Simpson and Bowles are highlighting specific ideas that that show promise of bipartisan support. We hope and expect that President Obama and Congressional leaders continue the conversation with the American people about the need to put our nation on a firmer fiscal footing."

For more information about the Campaign to Fix the Debt, please visit www.fixthedebt.org.

SOURCE Campaign to Fix the Debt