Democratic Ranking Members to Boehner, Committee Chairs: Begin Immediate, Bipartisan Negotiations to Replace Sequester with Balanced Plan
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Democratic Committee Members today called on Speaker Boehner and GOP Committee Chairs to begin bipartisan negotiations immediately to replace sequestration with a balanced deficit reduction plan in order to avoid economic uncertainty and devastating consequences to our economy, small businesses, and the middle class.
As the Ranking Members wrote in their letter, "We all agree that a sequester starting in January, 2013 is not in the country's best interest and is not the best way to assure responsible deficit reduction. The American people want us to work together to avoid unnecessary economic uncertainty at this crucial time in our recovery."
Further, the letter states, "We strongly recommend that this bipartisan process begin before the August recess so that the American people can be reassured before September 30 that the sequester will not take effect."
Below is the full text of the letter:
July 25, 2012
Dear Mr. Speaker and Chairs of the Committees,
As the senior Democratic Members of the Committees of the House, we call upon the Republican Leadership and the Chairs of our respective committees to begin immediate negotiations with Democrats on replacing the scheduled 2013 sequester with a balanced deficit reduction plan. We all agree that a sequester starting in January, 2013 is not in the country's best interest and is not the best way to assure responsible deficit reduction. The American people want us to work together to avoid unnecessary economic uncertainty at this crucial time in our recovery. Failure to reach an agreement would have devastating consequences for our economy, small business and the middle class.
The looming possibility of a January, 2013 sequester is already creating uncertainty in our economy. Working together and in good faith, Democrats and Republicans can negotiate an alternative to the defense and non-defense discretionary sequester as well as the mandatory sequester for fiscal year 2013. We are confident that we can identify revenue sources and prioritize investments in a bipartisan fashion to avoid the sequester while achieving our deficit reduction goals.
We look forward to hearing from you and sitting down to negotiate an alternative to the sequester. We strongly recommend that this bipartisan process begin before the August recess so that the American people can be reassured before September 30 that the sequester will not take effect.
best regards,
Collin C. Peterson
Ranking Member
House Committee on Agriculture
Norman D. Dicks
Ranking Member
House Committee on Appropriations
Adam Smith
Ranking Member
House Armed Services Committee
Chris Van Hollen
Ranking Member
House Committee on the Budget
George Miller
Ranking Member
House Committee on Education & the Workforce
Henry Waxman
Ranking Member
House Energy & Commerce Committee
Linda Sanchez
Ranking Member
House Committee on Ethics
Barney Frank
Ranking Member
House Committee on Financial Services
Howard Berman
Ranking Member
House Committee on Foreign Affairs
Bennie G. Thompson
Ranking Member
House Committee on Homeland Security
Robert A. Brady
Ranking Member
House Committee on Administration
John Conyers
Ranking Member
House Committee on the Judiciary
Edward Markey
Ranking Member
House Committee on Natural Resources
Elijah Cummings
Ranking Members
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
Louise Slaughter
Ranking Member
House Committee on Rules
Eddie Bernice Johnson
Ranking Member
House Committee on Science, Space, & Technology
Nydia M. Velazquez
Ranking Member
House Committee on Small Business
Nick Rahall
Ranking Member
House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure
Bob Filner
Ranking Member
House Committee on Veterans' Affairs
Sander Levin
Ranking Member
House Committee on Ways and Means
C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger
Ranking Member
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
Cc:
The Honorable John Boehner, Speaker of the House
The Honorable Frank Lucas, Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture
The Honorable Hal Rogers, Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations
The Honorable Howard P. McKeon, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee
The Honorable Paul Ryan, Chairman of the House Committee on the Budget
The Honorable John Kline, Chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce
The Honorable Fred Upton, Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee
The Honorable Jo Bonner, Chairman of the House Committee on Ethics
The Honorable Spencer Bachus, Chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services
The Honorable Ileana Ros - Lehtinen, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs
The Honorable Peter T. King, Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security
The Honorable Dan Lungren, Chairman of the House Committee on Administration
The Honorable Lamar Smith, Chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary
The Honorable Doc Hastings, Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee
The Honorable Lamar Smith, Chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary
The Honorable Darrell Issa, Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
The Honorable David Dreier, Chairman of the House Committee on Rules
The Honorable Ralph M. Hall, Chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
The Honorable Sam Graves, Chairman of the House Committee on Small Business
The Honorable John Mica, Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
The Honorable Jeff Miller, Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs
The Honorable Dave Camp, Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means
The Honorable Mike Rogers, Chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, House Democratic Leader
The Honorable Steny Hoyer, House Democratic Whip
The Honorable James Clyburn, Assistant House Democratic Leader
The Honorable John Larson, Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus