Meeks: 'Not Only Did the Committee Fail to Go Big, It Failed to Produce Anything at All'

Congressman's Statement on the Super Committee's Failure to Reach a Deal

Washington, DC – Congressman Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY), senior member of the House Financial Services Committee and Foreign Affairs Committee issued the following statement on the Super Committee’s failure to reach a deal:

“Last week, I joined over one hundred of my colleagues, from both political parties and both Houses of the Congress, to call on the deficit ‘super committee’ to ‘go big.’ Not only did the Committee fail to go big, it failed to produce anything at all. Its failure now puts millions of Americans at risk.

“The American people want a balanced approach to dealing with our deficit; that means making hard choices today to avoid pain tomorrow. It is clear that Republican intransigence, based upon a pledge to an unelected lobbyist and a blind devotion to protecting tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, sabotaged a deal that could set America on a path to fiscal security.

“It is not difficult to find savings and produce a deficit-reduction plan. As we noted at our bipartisan, bicameral press conference last week, Republicans and Democrats have identified billions in wasteful spending and tax-giveaways. We provide farm subsidies to millionaires, and we even pay farmers not to grow certain crops. Congress also provides government benefits and subsidies worth hundreds of billions of dollars to the wealthiest Americans, at the expense of country’s national security, our seniors’ well-being, and our children’s educational futures. Such egregious waste must end.

“I call on my colleagues, Republicans and Democrats alike, to work together to find a solution, and soon.”