Note: An earlier version of this release incorrectly attributed a Nobel Prize to Dr. Jeffrey Sachs. This version corrects the error.
Washington, D.C. — The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) today invited members of the Select Committee on Deficit Reduction– the so-called “Super-Committee”– to an ad hoc hearing on America’s top priority: job creation. The hearing will feature economists and other critical voices that have been left out of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction’s debate over how to fix our nation’s economic woes. Over the past several months, the Super Committee has met largely in secret in an attempt to reach a $1.5 billion deficit reduction deal. The ad hoc hearing will feature internationally recognized economist Jeffrey Sachs, Dr. Julianne Malveaux, economist John Irons with the Economic Policy Institute, and Robert Borosage, co-director of the Campaign for America’s Future.
Full text of the letter is below.
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November 09, 2011
Senator Patty Murray
Representative Jeb Hensarling
Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Chairpersons of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction,
As co-chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), we invite you, and all members of theJoint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (JSCDR), to testify as part of the first panel at an ad hoc hearing on job creation and poverty prevention that the CPC will host Wednesday, November 16, 2011. Over the past several months, the CPC has offered the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction constructive recommendations for deficit reduction. The American people have been clear that Congress’s top priority must be job creation, and we have advocated for job creation measures on their behalf. At the same time, we have seen working families reject proposed austerity measures, including deep cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. These cuts would have disastrous consequences for the middle class and the economy as a whole. Clearly, we must pursue other approaches to solving our economic problems.
Unfortunately, the JSCDR has not held a hearing on job creation or the need to protect Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Therefore, the CPC is hosting a panel of economic experts to discuss how to put Americans back to work while protecting the safety nets that keep millions of Americans out of poverty.
Please join us on November 16th from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Room 2237 of the Rayburn House Office Building. Contact Brad Bauman, executive director of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, at Brad.Bauman@mail.house.gov or 202-225-2435 if you plan to attend or have any questions.
Sincerely,
Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva Rep. Keith Ellison
Co-Chair Co-Chair
Congressional Progressive Caucus Congressional Progressive Caucus
