[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 331 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 331

 Expressing the sense of the Senate that Congress should ``Go Big'' in 
                 its attempts toward deficit reduction.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 16, 2011

   Mr. Kirk (for himself, Mr. Manchin, Mr. Begich, Mr. Conrad, Mrs. 
 Hutchison, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Lieberman, and Mr. Warner) submitted the 
  following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the Senate that Congress should ``Go Big'' in 
                 its attempts toward deficit reduction.

Whereas the Government of the United States has reached record levels of debt, 
        with total debt outstanding exceeding $14,970,000,000,000;
Whereas the publicly held debt of the United States has reached 67 percent of 
        Gross Domestic Product and is projected to increase to 100 percent by 
        2021;
Whereas the Congressional Budget Office estimated the deficit for fiscal year 
        2011 at approximately $1,300,000,000,000;
Whereas the outlook on the deficits and debt of the United States has caused the 
        Nation's long-term credit rating to be downgraded for the first time in 
        history by at least one Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating 
        Organization, and its credit rating could potentially be downgraded 
        again;
Whereas the Budget Control Act of 2011 has empowered the Joint Select Committee 
        on Deficit Reduction to propose significant and important reductions to 
        the deficit, and failure to secure sufficient reductions will trigger 
        substantial cuts in critical areas;
Whereas the presidentially appointed National Commission on Fiscal 
        Responsibility and Reform has created a framework to reduce the Federal 
        deficit by approximately $4,000,000,000,000;
Whereas numerous budget experts, leading political figures, and independent 
        groups of differing political ideologies have advocated for a ``Go Big'' 
        strategy for deficit reduction; and
Whereas 45 United States Senators have previously supported the goal of 
        achieving greater deficit reduction: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that Congress should 
pass a deficit reduction measure that--
            (1) includes enough deficit reduction to stabilize the 
        Federal debt as a share of the economy, put the debt on a 
        downward path, and provide fiscal certainty;
            (2) reduces the deficit by at least $4,000,000,000,000 over 
        10 years in order to reassure financial markets;
            (3) encompasses the principles of reform, shared sacrifice, 
        and compromise;
            (4) uses established, bipartisan debt and deficit reduction 
        frameworks as a starting point for discussions;
            (5) focuses on the major parts of the budget and includes 
        long-term entitlement reforms and pro-growth tax reform;
            (6) is structured to grow the economy in the short, medium, 
        and long terms to create jobs in the United States and increase 
        United States competitiveness;
            (7) builds a foundation of investor confidence that 
        preserves the United States dollar and Federal debt securities 
        as the global standard of safety and stability;
            (8) works to include the American public and the business 
        community in a broader discussion about the breadth of the 
        issues, challenges, and opportunities facing us; and
            (9) includes tax reform that guarantees deficit reduction 
        and economic growth to rebuild America.
                                 <all>