Forty House Republicans joined 60 Democrats today in a letter calling on the congressional super committee to consider “all options” in crafting a deficit reduction package, including increasing revenues. As the AP notes, the “letter puts about one-sixth of House GOP lawmakers on record as saying the supercommittee should consider collecting more taxes.” From the letter:
We write to you as a bipartisan group of representatives from across the political spectrum in the belief that the success of your committee is vital to our country’s future. We know that many in Washington and around the country do not believe we in the Congress and those within your committee can successfully meet this challenge. We believe that we can and we must.
To succeed, all options for mandatory and discretionary spending and revenues must be on the table. In addition, we know from other bipartisan frameworks that a target of some $4 trillion in deficit reduction is necessary to stabilize our debt as a share of the economy and assure America’s fiscal well-being.
Republican Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) organized the letter, which included conservative signatories like Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) and some freshmen Tea Party lawmakers like Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY).
So far, the Republican leadership has shown little interest in even discussing the revenue side of the balance sheet, let alone raising the necessary tax revenue, even though experts agree that reducing the deficit will require both spending cuts and more money coming in.
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