A Message From Congressman Ted Deutch

Dear Friend, I have long argued that Washington’s fixation over the long-term budget deficit and neglect for our ongoing jobs crisis is endangering our economic recovery. As you may be aware, President Obama has already signed into law $1.4 trillion in spending cuts and raised over $600 billion in new revenue by allowing some tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans to expire. Yet scheduled to begin on March is sequestration - an additional $1.2 trillion in spending cuts mandated to take place if Congress fails to adopt a balanced, bipartisan plan for deficit reduction. Economists from across the political spectrum agree that sequestration’s cuts-only approach to deficit reduction could force our economy back into recession. The cuts mandated by sequestration will mean fewer jobs in every area of our economy – from food inspection and homeland security to public education and scientific research. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the first $85 billion round of spending cuts slated for March would eliminate nearly 690,000 jobs by the end of 2013. We must begin to view our deficit problem as a jobs problem. As the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office confirms in a recent report, sequestration’s massive cuts will fail to reduce the deficit in the long-term because they will subdue growth and shrink our economy in the short-term.  I am committed to replacing sequestration with a responsible plan that ends giveaways to special interests, closes offshore tax havens, and creates a tax code that ensures businesses of all sizes compete on a level playing field. At the same time, we must create jobs by initiating high-impact infrastructure projects, expanding support for cutting-edge medical research, and pursuing other investments proven to boost economic growth. The decisions made in the coming weeks about our budget are of great consequence to Florida’s economy. I will continue to argue for a balanced approach to deficit reduction that protects hundreds of thousands of jobs and puts all of America’s families first. Kind regards,  Ted Deutch