01/10/13 Senator Dan Coats (R-Ind.), ranking Republican on the bicameral Joint Economic Committee, Monday called on congressional leaders to bring Congress back into session to work on a deficit reduction plan:
“As the national debt continues to rise, each day wasted is a day closer to our country hitting its borrowing limit. Rather than take a break from the Capitol, congressional leaders should immediately call lawmakers back to Washington to begin working now on a long-term deficit reduction plan to address our unsustainable $16.4 trillion debt.
“Unlike the past two years, we cannot continue to run out the clock forcing Congress to make last minute decisions on deeply flawed policies. The Senate should not be rushing major legislation and voting in the early hours of the morning on New Year’s Day. It doesn’t have to be this way. Consistently governing from the edge of a cliff is detrimental to our country and reflective of a complete lack of leadership in Washington.
“Both sides of the aisle recognize that our spending and borrowing cannot continue at its current pace. Both parties have acknowledged that mandatory spending programs – Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security – are the main drivers of our debt. Now is the time to stop politicizing and start leading. This is no time for Congress or the President to take breaks from the fiscal crisis. Congress and the White House have a job to do and must get to work today.”
Neither the House of Representatives nor the Senate are scheduled to be in session this week.
