The Bipartisan Policy Center has glowing praise for the deficit reduction plan put forward by the Gang of Six senators and some dire warnings for each of the states.
The BPC offers an interactive map on its web site that shows the impact on each state if the debt ceiling remains frozen for August and September. In Michigan, depending on which scenario plays out on Capitol Hill, the cuts from just two months of debt crisis would range from $1.1 billion to $1.7 billion.
Gov. Rick Snyder may want to think long and hard about how that would destroy his new budget.
Take a look at the map here.
And here is the editorial about the new plan:
“Each member of the (Gang of Six) now Gang of Seven deserves the country’s praise. As time starts to run out to pass a debt ceiling extension that contains true debt reduction, the Gang’s last-ditch efforts to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat show real political courage. We join in applauding this renewed work by the seven Senators—Saxby Chambliss, Kent Conrad, Mike Crapo, Dick Durbin, Lamar Alexander, Mark Warner, and Dr. Tom Coburn.
“The specificity of the Gang of Seven’s proposals is admirable. Coburn’s extraordinary $9 trillion debt cutting initiative revealed (Monday) was a detailed, exhaustive product that should help guide the way forward as the nation confronts its debt crisis. Conrad’s $4 trillion plan has been denied a vote in his committee and on the Senate floor, but contains critical recommendations. The behind-the-scenes work of Chambliss, Crapo, Durbin and Warner, and their staffs, were crucial to producing the final comprehensive document.
“We urge other members of Congress and the administration to support the Gang of Seven product, which contains provisions for tax reform, budget enforcement, and stabilization of the national debt at approximately 70 percent of anticipated Gross Domestic Product by 2021.
“Our best estimate is that time for substantive action is running out. If some Senators do, indeed, use “all” parliamentary procedures available under Senate rules to try to defeat an increase in the debt ceiling, we estimate that a full six to seven days could be consumed in Senate legislative action. If the House abides by its rule to allow all members time to review legislation for 72 hours before bringing it to the House floor, the nation will find itself nearly at the August deadline.
“A specific plan now exists. It should be passed as soon as possible.”
