December 5, 2012
Dear Republican Members of Congress,
We, the undersigned organizations, who represent millions of Americans dedicated to fiscal restraint, have read in dismay some members of Congress will consider raising taxes to address the upcoming "Fiscal Cliff."
Specifically, some members have said they will repudiate their pledge to taxpayers but attempt to hold the line on rate increases to achieve a "deal" with the Obama administration. We urge you to reject this line of thinking. We urge you to reject tax increases, refocus negotiations on spending cuts and entitlement reform, where they belong, and send a strong signal to Americans they can count on their elected representatives to look out for them in the upcoming budget negotiations.
We have seen this before. We are told to "be reasonable" and "accept reality" and strive for "balance" between spending cuts and increased revenues. All we have to do is "tax the rich a little more," and economic revival will be at hand. But the spending cuts never materialize, the revenues end up going to further expand government rather than pay down debt, and the reality is Americans are asked to pay still more for Washington.
We understand concerns the sequester resulting from the Budget Control Act of 2011 will do little to address the real driver of our fiscal woes - entitlement spending. We further understand how difficult it will be to convince spendthrift lawmakers to take even a dime from discretionary spending.
But the organizations represented here have proposed hundreds of billions of dollars in potential savings - more than enough to avert the present financial crisis. We have outlined duplicative programs, programs that address needs that no longer exist and programs that exemplify waste and arrogance in government. And all of our organizations and the people who support our efforts understand the only way out of our current economic doldrums is to promote economic growth. Increasing taxes on those who work, save and invest is the last thing we need.
President Obama now proposes a $1.6 trillion increase in taxes. Don't give in. Stand up to pressure and honor the Taxpayer Protection Pledge you made to the hard-working Americans who put you into office.
And remember, the pledge doesn't box you in; it sets you free. It enables you to look for the real solutions, the levers on the economy that can produce real growth, real prosperity.
Sincerely,
Fred L. Smith, Jr.
President and Founder
Competitive Enterprise Institute
Phil Kerpen
President
American Commitment
Seton Motley
President
Less Government
Andrew Moylan
Outreach Director and Senior Fellow
R Street Institute
Tom McClusky
Sr. Vice President
FRC
Don Irvine
Chairman
Accuracy in Media
Terry Scanlon
President
Capital Research Center
Tom Giovanetti
President
Institute for Policy Innovation
Duane Parde
President
National Taxpayers Union
Paul Gessing
President
Rio Grande Foundation
Tina M. Pisenti
Executive Vice President & COO
Cascade Policy Institute
Scott Moody
President
The Maine Heritage Policy Center
Colin Hanna
President
Let Freedom Ring
Al Cardenas
Chairman
American Conservative Union
Amy Ridenour
Chairman/Joint CEO
The National Center for Public Policy Research
Andrew F. Quinlan
President
Center for Freedom & Prosperity
Timothy Lee
Vice President of Legal and Public Affairs
Center for Individual Freedom
Jimmy LaSalvia
Co-Founder & Executive Director
GOProud
Amy Noone Frederick
President
60 Plus Association