Grand Junction Daily Sentinel - Simpson-Bowles Plan Needs Support

Op-Ed

By Senator Michael F. Bennet

I'd like to join The Daily Sentinel in commending Wyoming Sen. Alan Simpson and his deficit commission co-chair Erskine Bowles on their efforts to rein in the nation's astronomical debt.

In a time of intense partisanship in Washington, Sen. Simpson, a Republican, and Mr. Bowles, a Democrat, came together to craft a comprehensive, bipartisan plan for deficit reduction that tackles discretionary spending (defense and non-defense) and reforms entitlements and our tax code.

The Simpson-Bowles Plan leaves nothing off the table. And while I certainly don't agree with every part, I strongly support a comprehensive deficit reduction plan that uses Simpson-Bowles -- or the plan produced by its offshoot, the Gang of 6 -- as a starting point.

I am absolutely confident that if 100 Coloradans were put in a room and asked to come up with a plan to reduce the debt, they would. This is something I told Sen. Simpson when I asked him to come to Colorado for a forum I convened last year with Sen. Mark Udall on the nation's fiscal challenges.

In town hall meetings across the state, Coloradans have told me they want a plan for deficit reduction that meaningfully addresses the problem, ensures we're all in it together, and is bipartisan. Simpson-Bowles meets those criteria, and as I have told leaders in both the House and Senate, it deserves an up-or-down vote in Congress.

Like Sen. Simpson, I too am optimistic about our ability to get this done despite the current state of our politics. If we can, our country, our economy and most importantly, our kids will all be better off. And we will have statesmen like Sen. Simpson and Mr. Bowles to thank.

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