House Appropriator Offers Super Committee Debt Free Proposal

Congressman Chaka Fattah provides committee deficit plan alternative

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As leaders in the House and Senate step up pressure on the Super Committee to provide a viable debt and deficit reduction plan, Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA), sent committee members and Congressional leaders a letter requesting that they consider a bold new plan that would raise enough revenue to pay off the debt.

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In a letter addressed to Members of the Super Committee, House Speaker John Boehner, Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Fattah wrote his Debt Free America strategy offers a unique revenue opportunity and ambitious strategy that will eliminate the National Debt.  He maintains a comprehensive review of this innovative approach will result in a debt free nation that has only a nominal impact on the average citizen.

Below is a copy of Fattah's letter:

As you are engaged in the difficult work of addressing the nation's fiscal circumstances, I would like to offer you a proposal I have been developing for the past few years.  This "Debt Free America" strategy differs from much of what has already been said in that it is both a unique revenue opportunity and ambitious strategy to eliminate, rather than slow the growth of, the National Debt.

While most revenue proposals under public consideration have focused on the income tax rate and exemptions, I believe it is appropriate that the Federal government consider a consumption tax similar to those imposed by almost every large economy in the world.  My proposal differs from the traditional Value Added Tax (VAT) approach; instead this new consumption fee would be uniquely American and is designed to fit our own economy.  This proposal, in addition to its potential to raise sufficient revenue to eliminate the National Debt, could also serve as the basis for the broader tax reform that members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction have mentioned undertaking.

I appreciate your attention to this proposal.  I am happy to answer any questions or supply addition information.  Please find attached a summary of the proposal, as well as supporting information for a related bill I introduced earlier this Congress.

Very truly yours,

Chaka Fattah
Member of Congress

Committee Members have until November 23 to come up with a plan to find at least $1.2 trillion in deficit savings over the next ten years or face automatic spending cuts that would dramatically impact the Department of Defense.

SOURCE Office of Congressman Chaka Fattah