Business Owners, Local Elected Officials, and Community Leaders Call on Federal Lawmakers to Find Practical Solutions

HOUSTON, Dec. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Campaign to Fix the Debt—a national nonpartisan coalition of business leaders, elected officials, community leaders, academics, and individual citizens—officially launched its state chapter in Texas, bringing together concerned individuals to call on lawmakers to address the ballooning national debt.

Campaign to Fix the Debt-Texas Steering Committee Co-Chair, former U.S. Representative Charlie Stenholm and Maya MacGuineas, President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, participated in the launch. Both called on lawmakers in Washington to put aside political differences to forge a credible plan to stabilize and bring down our national debt, and encouraged Texas citizens to ask their leaders to take action. 

"The goal of our campaign is to raise awareness of the economic crisis our country faces and ensure that Congress understands the importance of working together to find a solution," said Campaign to Fix the Debt-Texas Steering Committee Co-Chair Charlie Stenholm. "The $16 trillion debt load is not only detrimental for our country, but also for our state's budget."

"We are delighted so many citizens and community leaders in Texas have joined the Campaign to Fix the Debt," said Maya MacGuineas, President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, who is spearheading the Campaign. "Addressing the federal debt and the looming fiscal cliff are the biggest challenges facing our country today, and Texans realize that it will take all of our efforts to create the solutions we need. Lawmakers in Washington must make some tough decisions, and it will be easier for them to do so if they know that the people they represent do indeed value cooperation and demand a long-term, comprehensive agreement over our debt."

In addition to the long-term challenges posed by our debt, lawmakers will also need to confront the rapidly approaching "fiscal cliff"—over $600 billion of spending cuts and tax hikes next year alone that will take effect on January 1 unless Congress and the White House sign meaningful debt legislation to avoid it. Analysts unanimously agree going over the cliff would push the country back into a recession.

"As a former business owner, I am very concerned about the impending fiscal cliff and the economic effects it may have on businesses and their employees," said Wanda Rohm, a Co-Chair of the Campaign to Fix the Debt-Texas. "Congress and the President must to come together to strike a budget deal before January and put our country on a path to recovery."

The Campaign to Fix the Debt is committed to advocating for our elected leaders to avert the cliff while gradually putting our debt on a sustainable course by generating more tax revenues and making smart spending cuts to programs that aren't working or aren't necessary.

"It's going to take strong will, effective leadership, and a renewed spirit of bipartisanship from our leaders in Washington to address one of the most pressing challenges of our time," said Antonio Garza, former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico and Campaign to Fix the Debt-Texas Steering Committee member. "The time for action is now if we're to avert the looming fiscal catastrophe and the far-reaching global consequences that would ensue if we fail to respond. Everyday Americans expect and deserve Washington, D.C. to step up and address our country's looming debt crisis now."

Through grassroots organizing, earned media activities, and high-profile outreach, the Campaign to Fix the Debt is urging lawmakers to set aside political differences to formulate practical solutions to our nation's debt problems.

For more information, and to sign the campaign's Citizen's Petition, please visit www.fixthedebt.org.

SOURCE Campaign to Fix the Debt