Schwartz Statement on Super Committee
Washington, D.C.—Today the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction failed to put forward a plan to reduce the nation’s deficit by $1.2 trillion.
“As one of more than 100 Democrat and Republican members of Congress who called on the Super Committee to put forward a balanced approach to $4 trillion in deficit reduction, I am deeply disheartened that the Committee could not find common ground,” Schwartz said. “Now more than ever, Congress must demonstrate that we can work together to address the important issues facing our nation and do what is best for the American people.”
The failure of the Super Committee affects more than our ability to reduce the deficit. The Committee also failed to address a looming crisis in Medicare. Doctors who receive Medicare payments are currently scheduled for a 27 percent pay cut on January 1, 2012, potentially dramatically affecting millions of American seniors.
Last month, Schwartz sent a letter to members of the Super Committee – signed by 117 of her colleagues on both sides of the aisle – urging the inclusion of a permanent solution to the broken Medicare physician payment system as an integral component of their deficit reduction proposal. Despite good faith efforts by Democrats on the Committee to include full repeal of the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) while reducing the deficit, the issue remains unresolved.
“This in no way absolves Congress of our responsibility to address the imminent crisis in Medicare financing,” Schwartz continued. “In fact, we must act quickly on a long-term proposal rather than simply postpone these cuts as Congress has done for far too long.”
Last week, Schwartz released a detailed proposal, which was well-received by doctors and advocacy groups, to repeal the flawed SGR formula and set out a clear path toward comprehensive reforms of Medicare payment and delivery systems.
“I am committed to advancing this proposal in a bipartisan manner before the year’s end,” Schwartz said. “Members of both parties recognize the need to put an end to this perennial threat to Medicare beneficiaries’ access to medical services, restore stability to the Medicare program, and reduce growth in costs.”
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