Huffman to Budget Negotiators: Prevent Another Government Shutdown—Don’t Cave to Tea Party Extremism

December 03, 2013

WASHINGTON­—Last night, Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) led 25 members of the House of Representatives in sending a letter to the leaders of the budget conference committee urging them to strike a bipartisan compromise that prevents another shutdown and avoid further threats to the nation’s financial standing. The 16-day shutdown in October cost the U.S. economy an estimated $24 billion and hurt millions of Americans.

Huffman, joined by 24 other members, reminded House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, House Budget Committee Ranking Member Chris Van Hollen, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray, and Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Jeff Sessions that Congress’ priorities must be to get the economy back on track, protect Social Security and Medicare, and end the arbitrary cuts known as the sequester.

“Congress’s work is not finished. We write to request that you focus your conference committee’s work on avoiding both another shutdown and a financial crisis due to a failure to honor our nation’s financial obligations, and on ending the sequester cuts that are harming vital investments,” the lawmakers wrote. “Let us come together to get both our government and our economy back on track so that we can reduce income inequality, promote a vibrant middle-class, and provide every American with the opportunity to succeed.”

Huffman was joined by Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), David Cicilline (D-R.I.), Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), George Miller (D-Calif.), John Garamendi (D-Calif.), Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Sam Farr (D-Calif.), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.), Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.), Janice Hahn (D-Calif.), Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Mike Michaud (D-Maine), Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), and Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.).

The text of the letter can be found HERE or below:

The Honorable Paul Ryan                                           The Honorable Patty Murray
Chairman                                                                     Chairman
Committee on the Budget                                          Senate Budget Committee
U.S. House of Representatives                                   United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20515                                            Washington, D.C. 20510

The Honorable Chris Van Hollen                               The Honorable Jeff Sessions
Ranking Member                                                        Ranking Member
Committee on the Budget                                          Senate Budget Committee
U.S. House of Representatives                                   United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20515                                            Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Chairmen Ryan and Murray, and Ranking Members Van Hollen and Sessions:

Although we applaud the bipartisan effort that ended the 16-day government shutdown and delayed breaching the debt limit, Congress’s work is not finished.  We write to request that you focus your conference committee’s work on avoiding both another shutdown and a financial crisis due to a failure to honor our nation’s financial obligations, and on ending the sequester cuts that are harming vital investments like education, research and development, and infrastructure.

We all hold out hope that a long-term solution to our nation’s fiscal and economic challenges may be achievable, but in the meantime there are immediate steps that we can take to restore consumer confidence in Congress and the economy. First, we should end the sequester, which is costing jobs and hampering economic growth. The sequester is delaying the actions of the FDA, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and other agencies crucial to fostering innovation. It has imposed arbitrary cuts on programs like the Indian Health Service, adding to the list of broken promises that face American Indians. Cuts to childhood development and education not only cause harm now, but a failure to invest in future generations will have ramifications for years to come.

Second, we cannot support proposals to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits, cuts that would be extremely damaging to seniors, people with disabilities, families, and children. We can strengthen the Social Security Trust Fund by lifting the earnings cap but that should be a discussion that is separate and apart from the immediate budget debate. We can reduce Medicare spending and improve quality without raising out-of-pocket costs and placing more financial burdens on lower-income and middle-income Americans. In fact, one way to do that is to eliminate the sequester that is hampering efforts to reduce fraud and abuse. 

The most urgent crisis facing our nation is a crisis of consumer confidence and a sluggish economy.  Focusing on ending the sequester and on avoiding another shutdown would allow us to address those immediate challenges and create the good jobs we need.

Let us come together to get both our government and our economy back on track so that we can reduce income inequality, promote a vibrant middle-class, and provide every American with the opportunity to succeed. We look forward to working with all of you, regardless of party, for the good of the country.

Sincerely,


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