Oakland Press -- Leaders Must Sit Down and Work to Cut National Deficit

Op-Ed

By: Rep. Gary Peters

Several weeks ago, I held a budget deficit workshop in Berkley, along with the non-partisan Concord Coalition.

More than 150 people attended and they did something that politicians in Washington have been unable to do -- they sat down and had a serious discussion about our budget deficit and priorities.

After years of irresponsible fiscal policies, a lack of accountability, and an economic crisis that plunged our country to the brink of a second depression, we now face historic levels of debt. As a result, Washington will once again be forced to raise the national "debt ceiling" -- essentially the limit on our national credit card -- to prevent a default on our AAA credit.

A default would be devastating, making the deficit worse by increasing the interest rate on our debt. At the same time, it would be irresponsible to allow our country to continue down our current, unsustainable path.

As I have said consistently, I will not vote to raise the national debt limit without a comprehensive, responsible, balanced plan to reduce the deficit.

We must address all three fundamental factors of deficit reduction: Cutting spending, reforming taxes and investing in economic growth. Proposals that shift the burden onto one group at the expense of another, or ignore any of these basic factors, will not solve the problem.

The biggest step we can take to address the budget deficit is to grow our economy -- and that means supporting policies to help businesses create jobs, enable small companies to grow, rebuild our manufacturing sector and improve our competitiveness.

We must also simplify our tax code, which includes a staggering number of credits and deductions. These tax expenditures not only add complexity, they cost more every year than Social Security, Medicare, or our military. Massive loopholes allow large corporations to escape without paying any taxes.

We also need to make government more efficient. I have worked with Republicans and Democrats to introduce legislation to clean up wasteful federal programs.

Every day, the United States sends millions of dollars to China and Japan in interest payments on our national debt, helping those countries modernize their economies and invest in research. If we default on our debt, interest rates could skyrocket, raising the amount of interest we will fork over to foreign competitors.

The urgency of this crisis emphasizes that Washington cannot rely on budgetary tricks or gimmicks. Many Republicans are pushing for a misguided amendment to the Constitution that would force deep cuts to Medicare, impose serious roadblocks to closing tax loopholes, and hamstring Congress's ability to respond to future domestic emergencies. Additionally, this proposal would not even take effect until 2018, delaying tough decisions for political points now.

Ultimately, our budget crisis is a tough problem that poses difficult choices, and it is absolutely necessary to have a vigorous debate. While the stakes are high, it is time for leaders in Washington to put aside partisanship to focus on real solutions, cut the deficit, and put our country back on a path to fiscal stability and economic growth.

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