“President Obama rightly recognized the importance of both economic growth and deficit reduction in his State of the Union address. While some progress has been made, America still faces a severe long-term debt problem that must be resolved. Recent reforms have done very little to address our long-term structural deficits — debt is still on pace to reach and exceed 200 percent of GDP, which is well beyond anyone’s definition of dangerous and unsustainable.

“Economic growth and long-term debt reduction go hand-in-hand and should be top priorities for the President and Congress. We should act now to put in place a comprehensive plan that reduces deficits once the economy recovers, which would improve confidence and boost our economy in the short term, and strengthen American economic prosperity for the long term.”