Press

Today, Ben Ritz, Director of the Progressive Policy Institute’s (PPI) Center for Funding America’s Future, released the following statement in support of the bipartisan Fiscal Stability Act introduced in the Senate today:

“PPI commends Senators Manchin and Romney for leading 8 of their colleagues to introduce another pragmatic proposal for creating a bipartisan fiscal commission. Over the past year, the federal government’s real annual budget deficit more than doubled, from $933 billion to $2 trillion, despite our economy experiencing the lowest sustained period of unemployment since the 1950s. Boom times such as these are when we should be reducing our debt, not blowing it up.

“Creating a fiscal commission to tackle the problem now has bipartisan, bicameral support in Congress, as well as support from 90% of voters in both parties. Congressional leaders and the Biden administration should make the establishment of such a commission before the end of the year a top priority.”

The Fiscal Stability Act’s introduction builds on an effort that has picked up significant momentum in recent months. In September, a group of independent experts across the political spectrum — including Ritz — urged the creation of a bipartisan fiscal commission. Reps. Scott Peters and Bill Huizenga then introduced the Fiscal Commission Act of 2023, a bill similar to the Fiscal Stability Act which 198 House Republicans subsequently voted for as part of a government funding proposal. Upon being elected Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson listed the creation of a bipartisan debt commission as one of his top priorities.

This week, Ritz published a column in Wall Street Journal offering five reasons why Democratic leaders in Congress and the Biden administration should join the push, which recent polling shows 90% of Democratic voters already support:

• Deficits are undermining support for the Biden economy.
• Debt-service costs crowd out progressive priorities.
• Republicans must be challenged to accept tax increases.
• Social Security and Medicare face automatic cuts under current law.
• A financial fix would boost confidence in government.

You can read the full column here.

PPI’s Center for Funding America’s Future works to promote a fiscally responsible public investment agenda that fosters robust and inclusive economic growth. It tackles issues of public finance in the United States and offers innovative proposals to strengthen public investments in the foundation of our economy, modernize health and retirement programs to reflect an aging society, and transform our tax code to reward work over wealth.

The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) is a catalyst for policy innovation and political reform based in Washington, D.C. Its mission is to create radically pragmatic ideas for moving America beyond ideological and partisan deadlock. Learn more about PPI by visiting progressivepolicy.org.

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Media Contact: Amelia Fox, afox@ppionline.org