Patrick McHenryChairman

Washington, June 1, 2011 -

Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus made the following statement after meeting with President Obama and House Republicans at the White House this morning to discuss deficit reduction:

 “Several times during the meeting today, the President said he will not submit a plan to reduce the deficit that could be verified by the Congressional Budget Office.  Republicans need to avoid negotiating against ourselves, but the President’s lack of leadership on this issue cannot deter us from moving forward.  We should continue meeting with the President to try to negotiate a workable and verifiable agreement.  Republicans have offered a plan that puts us on the path toward eliminating the deficit and reducing the national debt by making long-term structural changes.  This could be the basis of an agreement that would pay immediate dividends in the credit markets, boost consumer confidence and be a plus for our economy and national security.

 “We must end the dangerous cycle of spending and borrowing that has pushed the federal government up against the debt limit and caused Standard and Poor’s to downgrade our credit rating outlook to ‘negative.’”