Compromise isn't a dirty word
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Dear Fellow Coloradan,
Two weeks ago, small-business owner Lisa Goodbee, president of Goodbee & Associates in Centennial, and 14 other small-business owners met with President Obama in Washington, D.C. They asked him to continue working with Congress to reach a balanced deal that fixes our budget.
They weren't the only ones moved to action: Colorado State University student Kirsten Silveira also recently traveled to Washington to ask congressional leaders to work together – across party lines – and address the looming fiscal cliff.
As the new year approaches, our country is at a crossroads: We can risk going off the fiscal cliff or we can seize this chance to set our nation on a more stable, sustainable footing by responsibly addressing our growing deficit.
The Marines have a saying: every crisis is an opportunity in disguise. I strongly believe the fiscal cliff is an opportunity for members of Congress to reach across the partisan divide and create a comprehensive, balanced deficit-reduction plan – an approach that doesn’t force the middle class to bear the brunt of the tough choices. And an approach that helps get our economy and job-growth going strong once again.
In order to reach this budget deal, we all need to set aside our rigid pledges, ultimatums and sacred cows. Compromise is not capitulation. In fact, finding common solutions that leaves everyone with something to cheer and something to dislike is how Washington used to accomplish great things before partisan politics got in the way of compromise and consensus.
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A few months ago, I led the majority of Colorado’s congressional delegation in urging Senate leaders, both Democrats and Republicans, to consider a sensible deficit-reduction plan. Such a plan would find sensible spending cuts, responsibly reform programs like Medicare and Medicaid, and raise new revenues. A large part of our job representing Colorado is to work together for the greater good of all of our constituents, and our political ideologies should not thwart progress.
Since the beginning, I’ve been a big advocate of using the Simpson-Bowles model as a starting point for a deficit-reduction plan. Although the Simpson-Bowles plan is not perfect, this bipartisan approach could make the necessary reductions in our federal deficit while staving off harsh, automatic sequestration cuts to defense and domestic discretionary spending. Here’s my commitment to you: I’ll keep working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle until we reach a responsible solution to avoid the fiscal cliff.
Warm regards,
