Fix the Debt Urges Budget Conference Committee to Reach Agreement on Budget
Washington, DC (PRWEB) November 14, 2013 -- On Wednesday, the budget conference committee met for the second time as lawmakers continued negotiations to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate budget resolutions for fiscal year 2014. Conferees discussed ways to improve the country’s fiscal outlook and stabilize the long-term trajectory of the debt relative to the economy.
Douglas Elmendorf, Director of the Congressional Budget Office, testified before the conference committee in the meeting and highlighted the long-term fiscal challenges facing the country. “Under CBO’s extended current-law baseline, federal debt held by the public, which is already quite high by historical standards, is projected to reach 100 percent of GDP 25 years from now, even without accounting for the harmful economic effects of rising debt,” Elmendorf said, later remarking that “Of course, a clear resolution of the long-term budgetary concerns would be beneficial.”
The Campaign to Fix the Debt, a non-partisan movement asking lawmakers to work together on legislation large enough to stabilize and reduce the national debt as a share of the economy, reacted to the second meeting.
“It is critical that conferees use this opportunity to not only agree upon a budget for FY2014 but also to take steps to place the country on a more sustainable fiscal course over the long-term,” said Maya MacGuineas, head of the Campaign to Fix the Debt. “We urge conferees to agree upon a budget conference report that puts the debt on a downward path as a share of the economy, fully offsets any sequester reduction with other savings, and includes an expedited process for tax and spending reforms.”
The Campaign to Fix the Debt also released a paper outlining these priorities for the budget conference committee’s report, which the conferees must agree on by December 13.
Members of the Campaign to Fix the Debt come from a broad range of social, economic and political perspectives with the belief that America's growing debt burden threatens our future, and that we must address it now. The Campaign mobilizes key communities – including leaders from business, government, and policy – and people all across America who want to see elected officials step up to solve our nation's fiscal challenges.
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For more information about the Campaign to Fix the Debt, please visit http://www.fixthedebt.org.
Jon Romano, Fix the Debt, http://www.fixthedebt.org/, 617-435-6613, [email protected]
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