Comments on "Supercommittee' Failure to Reach Deficit Reduction Agreement

Statement

Senator Ron Johnson (WI) made the following statement today upon learning that the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, the "supercommittee,' failed to reached a deficit reduction agreement before the deadline:

"Last week, our nation's debt surpassed the $15 trillion mark, and it continues to grow by approximately $100 billion a month. Add in the unfunded liabilities of Social Security, Medicare, and federal pensions, and our nation's total liabilities equal $99 trillion ($321,000 per person). When you consider the fact that our $99 trillion liability exceeds the entire net asset base of the United States ($78 trillion), it is easy to see how bad things are.

"Unfortunately, Washington has failed to deal with this by resorting to another round of secret meetings and a "special committee.' I was skeptical of the process from the start, but to encourage success, I submitted to the committee a list of savings totaling $1.4 trillion. Reducing the rate of growth in government spending should not be this hard.

"We need economic growth and real leadership - something that has been absent from Washington for far too long. America is facing a financial emergency. It is way past time for us to start acting like it."

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