The American Majority Needs a Seat at Deficit Reduction Talks

Washington, DC -- Today, The Campaign for America’s Future urged supporters to tell the President to diversify members of the group of lawmakers he asked to work with Vice President Joe Biden to come up with deficit solutions. The email campaign is in support of the 41 Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) who sent a letter to President Obama asking that legislators who share the views of most Americans be invited have a seat at the table in current and future deficit reduction talks.

Roger Hickey, co-director of the Campaign for America’s Future said, “There's only one deficit reduction proposal clearly backed by the American Majority: the People's Budget from the Congressional Progressive Caucus. In a democracy, the White House and Congressional deficit reduction solutions should reflect what the public wants. Progressive views must be represented in the room where any budget agreement will be reached.”

The Campaign for America’s Future has recently launched a project called the American Majority, asking the media to include in their news and opinion pieces a representative number of experts who share the views of the American Majority – rejecting harmful budget cuts and supporting job creation, economic growth, tax increases on millionaires and billionaires and reductions in U.S. military spending.

In back rooms at the White House and on Capitol Hill, the group led by Vice President Biden and the Gang of Six are working on deficit reduction packages that will have a dramatic impact on American lives. Yet none of the authors of the People's Budget are currently part of the White House-led bipartisan budget negotiations.

The People's Budget from the Progressive Caucus is the most reflective of the views of the American Majority, as it cuts the deficit by:

• Ending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, supported by 68% (NBC/WSJ poll, Feb. '11)

• Cutting wasteful military spending, supported by 67% (First Focus/Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research poll, April '11)

• Investing in job creation, instead of cutting vital programs, supported by 56% (Bloomberg poll, March '11)

• Rejecting cuts in Medicare (76%), Medicaid (67%) and Social Security (77%) benefits (NBC.WSJ poll, Feb. '11)

Hickey said, “Yet the People's Budget has received limited media coverage. And the authors of the People's Budget are not part of the White House-led bipartisan negotiations.”

The Campaign for America's Future launched the American Majority project, to encourage the political and media establishments to include the views American majority. Hickey said, “It's time for those of us in American Majority to be heard.”

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For more information, see Dave Johnson’s blog on Budget Talks and the American People:
http://ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2011051911/budget-talks-who-speaks-american-people

Link to the CPC letter:
http://grijalva.house.gov/uploads/CPC%20Letter%20to%20Obama%20May%2012%20on%20Deficit%20Negotiations.pdf