Rep. Hank Johnson's E-Newsletter for Nov. 23, 2011
Statement
Dear Friends,
I want to wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving. I've been back in town this week meeting with constituents, and I'm looking forward to spending some time with my family as well.
You've no doubt heard talk of the "Super Committee" and its recent failure to reach an agreement on the federal budget.
Here's the bottom line.
This past summer the majority party put the full faith and credit of the United States of America at unnecessary risk by refusing to raise the debt ceiling, which would allow Treasury to pay previously incurred debt.
As an unfortunate result of Congress' failure to act responsibly, the nation's credit rating was downgraded.
The final agreement to raise the debt ceiling established what became known as the "Super Committee," which was charged with identifying at least $1.2 trillion in additional debt reduction over 10 years.
Earlier this week, this committee announced that it was unable to reach an agreement. Congress will now spend the next year negotiating the exact distribution of spending cuts and tax increases worth at least $1.2 trillion or face broad, automatic cuts across many federal programs.
You should take some comfort in knowing that under the current framework, Social Security, Veterans benefits, and most programs supporting low-income Americans will be exempted from those automatic cuts.
Rest assured, I will continue to fight for a balanced approach. I agree with President Obama: it is impossible for us to solve our budgetary challenges as long as some in Congress fight any tax increases for the wealthiest Americans.
We can't solve our problems unless sacrifice is shared fairly. I will stand with President Obama as he fights for a fair solution that doesn't hurt those struggling to make ends meet while leaving the wealthiest and most powerful untouched.
In the mean time, my focus remains upon creating jobs for my constituents and accelerating economic recovery. That is why I continue to call on my colleagues to pass President Obama's jobs bill, which includes my proposal to ban hiring discrimination against the unemployed. And I will work to see that Congress passes an extension of the Payroll Tax cut, which is set to expire at the end of the year. Its expiration would raise taxes on the average American household by $1,000. I know families can't afford that right now.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source