CUELLAR STATEMENT ON FISCAL REFORM COMMISSION
Written by Post Public Information Representative, Dec 6, 2010, 0 Comments
Courtesy Lesley Lopez,WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28), issued the following statement after the president’s bipartisan fiscal commission voted on the commission’s final recommendations:
“After hard work and deliberation, the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform lead by co-chairs, Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, put forth a report that moves the much-needed discussion of fiscal responsibility forward and creates inroads for the sweeping reforms needed to cut wasteful government spending. Though the report received a bipartisan majority, it did not receive the 14 out of 18 votes required to send the plan to Congress.
“I’m glad to see several of the tenets of the Blue Dog fiscal blue print were included in the report, such as capping discretionary spending and setting major goals for deficit reduction.
“Because I strongly believe that major reform is needed to cut government waste, I authored the Government Performance and Results Modernization Act of 2010. This bipartisan legislation would increase transparency and accountability by requiring federal agencies to establish performance goals that can be measured and reported to Congress and taxpayers.
“Though I may not agree with every point the commission made, this report can start a conversation that produces solid answers to our nation’s grave fiscal problems. It is my hope that the findings of this report and the renewed bipartisan efforts of my colleagues will build momentum to find workable solutions and make tough decisions.”
Congressman Cuellar’s bill, the Government Performance and Results Modernization Act of 2010, is a key element in the Blue Dog Blueprint. The U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee unanimously passed the Cuellar-authored bill with a bipartisan amendment from Sens. Lieberman (I-CT), Carper (D-DE), Collins (R-ME), Voinovich (R-OH) and Akaka (D-HI). On June 16, 2010 the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed H.R. 2142. The bill is next expected to see action on the Senate floor shortly.
