Statement from the Campaign to Fix the Debt

WASHINGTON, Oct. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, Senate leaders announced a plan to re-open the government through January 15, raise the debt ceiling through February 7, and set up a budget conference to report recommendations by December 13. The following is a statement from Maya MacGuineas, President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and head of the Campaign to Fix the Debt:

"The Campaign to Fix the Debt is relieved that leaders in the Senate have agreed to a plan to re-open the government and avoid a dangerous default. We encourage Congress to pass and the President to sign this plan, and immediately turn their attention to the critical issue of how to put the nation on a sustainable fiscal path.

"It is incredibly disheartening that we are once again relying on last-minute deals that merely delay the real issues instead of addressing them. Playing with default was an incredibly dangerous game, but continuing to delay confronting our debt is letting a fire burn that could get out of control at any moment. We have to be able to expect more from our leaders – we cannot continue to lurch from one crisis to the next. If we do not change course, we will be dealing with these same issues all over again in only a few months' time.

"This agreement provides for a process, through the appointment of budget conferees, to deal with the fact that the country is operating without a budget. Congress and the President must use this opportunity to put in place the long-overdue changes of making our entitlement programs more sustainable, reforming our tax code, replacing sequestration with smarter reforms, and putting the debt on a sustainable downward path.

"Both houses should act quickly to stop the madness, start bipartisan discussions, and solve our debt problems once and for all."

For more information about the Campaign to Fix the Debt, please visit www.fixthedebt.org.

SOURCE Campaign to Fix the Debt