Campaign to Fix the Debt Launches Local Chapter in Texas to Urge
Lawmakers to Address Fiscal Cliff and Long-Term Debt
Business Owners, Local Elected Officials, and Community
Leaders Call on Federal Lawmakers to Find
Practical Solutions
HOUSTON,
Dec. 6,
2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The
Campaign to Fix the Debt—a national nonpartisan coalition of
business leaders, elected officials, community leaders, academics,
and individual citizens—officially launched its state chapter in
Texas, bringing together concerned
individuals to call on lawmakers to address the ballooning national
debt.
Campaign to Fix the Debt-Texas Steering Committee
Co-Chair, former U.S. Representative Charlie Stenholm and Maya MacGuineas, President of the Committee for
a Responsible Federal Budget, participated in the launch. Both
called on lawmakers in Washington
to put aside political differences to forge a credible plan to
stabilize and bring down our national debt, and encouraged
Texas citizens to ask their
leaders to take action.
"The goal of our campaign is to raise awareness of the
economic crisis our country faces and ensure that Congress
understands the importance of working together to find a solution,"
said Campaign to Fix the Debt-Texas Steering Committee Co-Chair
Charlie Stenholm. "The $16 trillion debt load is not only detrimental
for our country, but also for our state's budget."
"We are delighted so many citizens and community leaders
in Texas have joined the Campaign
to Fix the Debt," said Maya
MacGuineas, President of the Committee for a Responsible
Federal Budget, who is spearheading the Campaign. "Addressing the
federal debt and the looming fiscal cliff are the biggest
challenges facing our country today, and Texans realize that it
will take all of our efforts to create the solutions we need.
Lawmakers in Washington must make
some tough decisions, and it will be easier for them to do so if
they know that the people they represent do indeed value
cooperation and demand a long-term, comprehensive agreement over
our debt."
In addition to the long-term challenges posed by our debt,
lawmakers will also need to confront the rapidly approaching
"fiscal cliff"—over $600 billion of
spending cuts and tax hikes next year alone that will take effect
on January 1 unless Congress and the
White House sign meaningful debt legislation to avoid it. Analysts
unanimously agree going over the cliff would push the country back
into a recession.
"As a former business owner, I am very concerned about the
impending fiscal cliff and the economic effects it may have on
businesses and their employees," said Wanda
Rohm, a Co-Chair of the Campaign to Fix the Debt-Texas.
"Congress and the President must to come together to strike a
budget deal before January and put our country on a path to
recovery."
The Campaign to Fix the Debt is committed to advocating
for our elected leaders to avert the cliff while gradually putting
our debt on a sustainable course by generating more tax revenues
and making smart spending cuts to programs that aren't working or
aren't necessary.
"It's going to take strong will, effective leadership, and
a renewed spirit of bipartisanship from our leaders in Washington to address one of the most pressing
challenges of our time," said Antonio
Garza, former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico and Campaign to Fix the Debt-Texas
Steering Committee member. "The time for action is now if we're to
avert the looming fiscal catastrophe and the far-reaching global
consequences that would ensue if we fail to respond. Everyday
Americans expect and deserve Washington,
D.C. to step up and address our country's looming debt
crisis now."
Through grassroots organizing, earned media activities,
and high-profile outreach, the Campaign to Fix the Debt is urging
lawmakers to set aside political differences to formulate practical
solutions to our nation's debt problems.
For more information, and to sign the campaign's Citizen's
Petition, please visit www.fixthedebt.org.
SOURCE Campaign to Fix the Debt