Statement by Foundation Chairman Peter G. Peterson on President Obama's Deficit Reduction Proposal to the "Super Committee"

“In his remarks today, President Obama recognized the importance of putting the nation’s fiscal house in order and rightly called on the ‘super committee’ to go beyond $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction.

“Both parties have presented their respective visions for deficit reduction, but what we need now is for Republicans and Democrats to move beyond ideology. To be successful, the super committee must seriously consider the credible and comprehensive fiscal proposals that have been put on the table over the past year, many of which already have bipartisan support.

“The super committee and its process represent a significant opportunity to put this nation on a better path. The true test of any long-term fiscal plan is whether or not it stabilizes federal debt as a percentage of the economy. The only way to do that is to address the structural drivers of our long-term debt, including entitlement and tax reform.

“If we agree now on comprehensive fiscal reforms that can be implemented when the economy recovers, we can give the economy a much needed boost of confidence in the short term and put America on a much more sustainable and prosperous path for the long term.”

About the Peter G. Peterson Foundation
The Peter G. Peterson Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization established by Pete Peterson – businessman, philanthropist, and former U.S. Secretary of Commerce. The Foundation is dedicated to increasing public awareness of the nature and urgency of key long-term fiscal challenges threatening America's future and to accelerating action on them. To address these challenges successfully, we work to bring Americans together to find and implement sensible, long-term solutions that transcend age, party lines and ideological divides in order to achieve real results. To learn more, please visit www.PGPF.org.