Public Statements

Gov. Roemer Reacts to Negligence of Not-So-Supercommittee

Press Release

Governor Buddy Roemer, former four-term member of Congress and Governor of Louisiana, today announced an Open Letter to the United States House of Representatives. The letter chastises Congress for the failure of the so-called "Supercommittee" to arrive at a resolution for reaching $1.2 trillion dollars in spending cuts prior to the Thanksgiving break. The letter also goes on to offer concrete recommendations, drawing on Roemer's extensive public service experience, for improving America's economy, finding necessary cuts, and balancing trade with China.

Specifically, Governor Roemer proposes a simple four point plan for controlling federal spending, if only Congress would summon the political will to do so. While other Presidential candidates have criticized the failure of the Supercommittee, none have offered solutions as detailed and specific as Governor Roemer's.

The plan tells Congress to first "Abandon the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction," arguing plausibly that the committee is just not doing its job. Next, Congress should conduct an up or down vote on the recommendations of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. This could potentially reduce our deficit by $4 trillion dollars, far more than the not-so-supercommittee was unable to achieve. Congress should also reinstate a version of Glass-Steagall, which separated investment banks from commercial banks and mitigated some of the risk that led to the banking collapse of 2007. Finally, Congress should enact laws that level the playing field with China and contain disincentives for the Communist Chinese government to engage in currency manipulation, such as the Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Reform Act.

These proposals, taken together, amount to an ambitious plan that Congress should implement, but first they need to return to work. Calling it "quits" three days before Thanksgiving is negligent behavior.

In his closing words to Congress, Governor Buddy Roemer is not afraid to call them out on their desire to be re-elected at all costs. On this issue, Governor Roemer leads by example. He was the only member of Congress never to accept PAC or special interest money, and he continues to refuse his benefits as a former member of Congress. Roemer then tells the Congress, "I promise you, if you make the right choice, the money won't matter. You'll get reelected for what you did for the American people, not what you did for the corporations."

Governor Buddy Roemer is a four-term Congressman and former Governor of Louisiana. He is known for refusing PAC and special interest money, implementing campaign finance reform, turning around Louisiana's failing economy and cutting the State's employment rate in half in just four years. Roemer is a candidate for President of the United States. His website is www.BuddyRoemer.com.