Dear Mr. President:
We write to support greater action to reduce the budget deficit.
We commend your State of the Union statement that "we should limit the burden of governmenton this economy by acting as good stewards of taxpayer dollars." We welcome your recentbudget’s increased attention to reducing the deficit.
The Government should go further. The Government should commit to a sustainable path tobalance the budget.
We compliment the position stated by your Administration before your recent budget (forexample, in the Analytical Perspectives section of your fiscal year 2004 budget and in theJan. 22, 2004, Statement of Administration Policy to the Senate on H.R. 3108, the PensionFunding Equity Act) that "[t]he Administration supports the extension of [the BudgetEnforcement Act's pay-as-you-go requirements] in a manner that ensures fiscal discipline...."
The Government needs to restore and strengthen the Federal budget process by, among otherthings, enacting statutory pay-as-you-go requirements for both spending and revenues.We look forward to working together -- across party lines, Congress and Executive -- to reducethe deficit. Thank you for your increased attention to this important matter.
Most Respectfully,
Max Baucus
John McCain
Russ Feingold
Lindsey Graham
Evan Bayh
