Sen. Carper Echoes Support for Bowles-Simpson Budget Effort

WASHINGTON – Today, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), echoed his support for the Bowles-Simpson budget proposal as Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, announced that his committee would mark up the legislative equivalent of the proposal by the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform on April 18 as a long-term budget for the federal government. His statement follows:

“For quite some time, I’ve supported pursuing a comprehensive, long-term deficit reduction plan that begins to rein in our massive federal debt and deficit in a balanced way. Fortunately, Congress has a blueprint that would do just that. President Obama created a bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform and appointed former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson and former Chief of Staff to President Clinton Erskine Bowles to lead the effort. After deliberating for nearly a year, they put forward a consensus plan to put our country back on the right fiscal track.

“This plan requires the shared sacrifice necessary to rein in our deficit. That means both reducing government spending and enacting comprehensive tax reform that ensures everyone is paying their fair share. While I don’t agree with every aspect of the Bowles-Simpson proposal, I support its balanced approach. I’m encouraged by Sen. Conrad’s decision to mark up the Commission’s responsible blueprint as our nation’s long-term budget plan. This is a conversation that needs to be renewed. I encourage my colleagues, especially those on the Budget Committee, to embrace this bipartisan framework for long-term deficit reduction.”

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