◼ Congressman Allen West (R-FL) released this statement this morning on the looming failure of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, referred to as the Super Committee:
"The Super Committee was entrusted by the American people and by fellow Members of Congress to work together and come up with a solution to America's fiscal crisis by spending and balancing our budget and finding the means to cut 1.2 trillion dollars over the next 10 years.
The Members of the Super Committee that stepped up to the plate to complete this task promised their country they would put politics aside, and fulfill this important task. Yet, it is apparent to everyone that politics and partisanship is at the very core of this failure. Over the course of the past two months, including dozens of meetings and hearings, this Super Committee has not been able to agree on a single issue that can help move this country forward. I find it appalling that grown adults can not sit down at a table and find a way to negotiate something so important to the future of this nation.
President Barack Obama and his Administration are to blame for the anticipated failure of the Super Committee. He has stood by and done nothing to encourage bipartisanship among this committee. Instead, the President and this Administration would rather sit back and watch automatic cuts kick in that will be devastating to our military- ripping 600 billion dollars from Defense in 10 years. At a time when America's enemies are more emboldened than ever, our military needs to be supported, not shredded.
I am calling on President Obama to step up and be a leader and introduce legislation that will restore these automatic cuts to our military. We can not put our country in danger because of partisan antics. The American people are sick and tired of Washington, DC and there's good reason why. The failure of this Super Committee is an embarrassment to Congress and to the American people. I call upon Members of Congress to learn from this failure and realize that the true victims of these partisan antics and political games are the American people."
