Letter to Representative Hensarling, Senator Murray, and Members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction

Letter

Representative Steve Southerland, II today joined 71 House Republican colleagues in sending a letter to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction urging the Supercommittee to reject any efforts in to increase taxes on America's families and job creators.

"The federal government does not have a revenue problem; it has a spending problem," Southerland said. "To get our economy back on track, we must restore certainty for our job creators, improve conditions for economic growth, eliminate Washington's addiction to out-of-control spending and pay down our $15 trillion debt. None of these solutions will be achieved by hiking taxes on America's families and small businesses. I remain as committed as ever to holding the line on fiscal responsibility and will only support common sense, pro-growth solutions that fix our fiscal future."

NOTE: Included below is the full text of the letter from Rep. Southerland and 71 of his House Republican colleagues to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction:

Dear Representative Hensarling, Senator Murray, and Members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction:

It is evident that America has a fiscal crisis because Washington spends too much, not because it taxes too little. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, tax revenues will reach or exceed the historical average of 18 percent of economic output by the end of this decade, even as spending continues to increase at an unsustainable rate. Increasing taxes on Americans would destroy jobs, erase all hope of an economic recovery, and simply serve to feed out-of-control spending in Washington.

Thus, as you continue the important task to reach a deficit reduction agreement, we ask that any policies the Joint Select Committee prescribes not increase Americans' tax burden. With current levels of taxation already limiting economic growth, we believe that marginal rates must be maintained or lowered and that repeal of any tax credit or deduction be offset with an equal or greater tax cut.

Although there are diverse beliefs toward specific policies that should be included in any deficit reduction plan, we must recognize that increasing the tax burden on American businesses and citizens, especially during a fragile recovery, is irresponsible and dangerous to the health of the United States.

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