Rep. John Lewis Statement on Inability of Supercommittee to Agree

Washington, DC- Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) the two chairs of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, also know as the "supercommittee" released a statement today saying, "....it will not be possible to make any bipartisan agreement available to the public before the committee's deadline."  Rep. John Lewis made these comments in light of the committee's inability to come to an agreement:

"I  think the American people are disappointed, and I am also very disappointed that the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction was unable to develop any kind of agreement.   A lot of time and a lot of effort has been dedicated to this process, but apparently, the talks broke down around the need to find a compromise that both reduces spending and also raises additional revenue.  This setback is a reflection on all of us.  The people will not separate Democrats from Republicans or House from Senate members.  

“We cannot continue to govern in this way.  We were elected to make the tough decisions, and we must continue to work.  The future of our republic is at stake.  We can no longer continue to kick the can down the road.  Rising poverty, increasing economic insecurity, and so many other pressing issues suggest this is not a time to pull up our hands and give up.  I am certain that next week we will be meeting on both sides of the aisle to come up with our next steps.  There is still an opportunity to develop a bi-partisan approach to our challenges as a nation.  I would welcome any truly bi-partisan effort to resolve these differences for the good of the people of this country.”

CONTACT:

Brenda Jones
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