Statement

Earlier this week, I attended a bipartisan meeting with Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson and others with the Fix the Debt Coalition to discuss the fiscal cliff -- the dramatic arbitrary budget cuts combined with stifling middle-class tax increases that will take place on January 1, 2013. We discussed with the co-chairmen of the President's debt commission ways Republicans and Democrats can work together to avoid the fiscal cliff, protect middle-class families and strengthen our economy. I also joined with more than 60 Democrats and Republicans in urging congressional leaders to work toward a "bipartisan, common sense solution" to our debt crisis that incorporates spending cuts and increased revenue through pro-growth tax reform. Simply raising tax rates on small businesses is not the answer, and independent studies have shown small business tax hikes will eliminate more than 700,000 American jobs.