Super Committee leaders should quit fundraising, party leadership positions

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  • Dale Eisman

Members of the “Super Committee” created by Congress to tackle the nation’s fiscal problems should begin their work by stepping back from leadership and fundraising positions in their respective political parties, Common Cause said today.

“With the public already disgusted with Washington in the wake of the debt limit debacle, it’s vital that people have confidence that Super Committee members are thinking about the nation’s best interests, not positioning their party or worrying about how their decisions appear to donors,” said Common Cause President Bob Edgar.

Edgar said Sen. Patty Murray, chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Rep. Jeb Hensarling, chair of the House Republican Conference, and Sen. Jon Kyl, the Senate Republican Whip, should choose between retaining those positions or serving on the Super Committee. And Sen. Pat Toomey, already touted in some press accounts as the Tea Party’s representative on the committee, should make clear that he’s operating independently, Edgar added.

“Solving our budgetary problems will require both long-term spending cuts and tax reforms that create new revenue for the federal government,” Edgar asserted. “To get there, we need committee members who will shed their partisan labels and follow the example set recently by the Senate’s “Gang of Six” in searching for true compromise.

“We also need the committee to fully reflect our nation’s diversity. We hope that the three appointments to be made by House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi will strengthen the voices of women and minorities in the Super Committee’s work,” Edgar added.

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