Letter to Barack Obama, President of the United States - Reducing the National Debt

Letter

Today Congressman Alan Nunnelee (R-Miss), along with 76 of his freshman colleagues, sent a letter to President Obama asking him to join discussions on reducing our nation's debt in relation to his request that Congress raise the debt ceiling by August 2nd.

"Last week the House of Representatives showed that we are in no way interested in voting for a debt ceiling increase without some very specific conditions," said Nunnelee. "House Republicans have put forth a budget that tackles our debt problem while addressing entitlement programs. Right now, the only plan the Administration and Treasury Secretary Geithner have is for Congress to pass the debt limit increase. Before we can entertain any meaningful discussions, President Obama must show a willingness to produce a plan that contains significant spending cuts and reforms, including Medicare."

June 6, 2011

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

On May 16th, the United States reached the $14.294 trillion debt ceiling. According to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's May 2nd letter to Speaker John Boehner, the last possible date for Congress to raise the debt limit and still prevent default is August 2, 2011. As Members of Congress who are casting their first votes on the creditworthiness of the United States, we are writing to seek your support in addressing the unsustainable and historically high debt that our nation faces. In February, you stated that "We will not be adding more to the national debt. To use a sort of an analogy that families are familiar with, we're not going to be running up the credit card anymore. That's important, and that's hard to do. But it's necessary to do."

Despite this rhetoric, you and officials from your Administration have asked Congress to vote on a clean debt limit increase that would necessitate raising the statutory debt limit by $2.4 trillion dollars to prevent default through the end of 2012. As recently as May 25th, Secretary Geithner said, "Our plan is for Congress to pass the debt limit. Our fall-back plan is for Congress to pass the debt limit and our fall-back plan to the fall-back plan is for Congress to pass the debt limit."

Yet, as evidenced by the overwhelming and bipartisan rejection of such a debt limit increase on May 31st, it is clear that a debt limit increase that does not include significant spending cuts and structural reforms has zero chance of passing the House of Representatives.

Republican Members of the House of Representatives have put forth a plan to address our nation's deficit and debt problem, including policies to address the primary drivers of our debt our entitlement programs and in particular, Medicare. However, your Administration has yet to come forward with a detailed plan that reduces the national debt and addresses entitlement reform. It is vital that for serious negotiations to take place your Administration must put forward a plan that addresses entitlement reform, including Medicare. We cannot have honest and forthright negotiations without such a plan.

The current debate over what it will take for Congress to agree to raise the debt ceiling is one of the most vital debates the 112th Congress will engage in, yet the voice and leadership of the President of the United States is missing. Americans deserve to hear your plan.

We appreciate your consideration and look forward to your response within the next 30 days.

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