“Sequestration represents nothing less than a failure of government in Washington. Sequestration is the wrong way to reduce federal spending. The key goal of any sustainable fiscal policy is to stabilize the debt as a share of our economy and put it on a downward path for the long term. The sequester fails to stabilize the debt because it only targets discretionary spending, rather than addressing the real drivers of long-term debt, including Medicare and Medicaid health care spending, Social Security, and the lack of sufficient revenue.

“Both parties need to move beyond self-inflicted and economically damaging fights over short-term issues and focus on solving our fundamental long-term fiscal challenges. To help the economy and stabilize our debt, both parties should agree now on a comprehensive long-term fiscal plan that can be implemented as the economy recovers.”