Dueling Debt Committees: Tea Party Debt Commission Hearing will take Place Simultaneously with Super-Committee Meeting

WASHINGTON, DC- House and Senate members will join over 200 tea party leaders from across the country for the Tea Party Debt Commission joint hearing this Thursday, November 17th from 2-4pm ET in Senate Russell hearing room 325. Commissioners will testify for approximately 30 minutes, followed by Q&A from legislators.

Among the members attending are RSC Chairman Jim Jordan (OH-4), Senator Mike Lee (UT), Senator Rand Paul (KY), Congressman Jeff Flake (AZ-6), Congressman Paul Broun (GA-10), Congressman Joe Walsh (IL-8), Congressman Michael Burgess (TX-26) and Congressman Steve King (IA-5).

“It’s great to see Senators Lee and Paul, and Representatives Broun, Flake, Walsh, Jordan, Burgess and King taking the time to hear from grassroots America and partner with them to make a serious commitment to reducing our debt.  The Tea Party Debt Commission findings show that there is popular support for legislative entrepreneurs who dare to be bold and attack our debt problem, not just kick the can down the road to the next generation,” commented Matt Kibbe, President of FreedomWorks.

The hearing will serve as the tea party’s response to the super-committee’s likely disappointing findings, and counter the false narrative that tea partiers can’t identify specific cuts to the budget. Grassroots leaders around the country know that Washington can do better, and the findings of the Tea Party Debt Commission document exactly what cuts can -and should- be made to preserve America’s economic future.

“As we worked through our crowd-sourcing process to collect data, it struck me that cutting the spending is just not that hard,” commented Alfred Maurer, a Commissioner from Colorado Springs, CO. “I think most ordinary people who read this will be impressed with its common sense approach to deficit reduction, and its simplicity in eliminating the unnecessary waste, fraud and abuse currently plaguing our budget and economy. I am convinced now more than ever, that given the will, we have it in our power to shape and control our nation’s destiny.”

“Four and a half months ago we set a high bar for ourselves,” commented Dean Clancy, Legislative Counsel for FreedomWorks. “It hasn’t been easy, but with a lot of hard work, the Commission has met and exceeded all of its goals. We set out to balance the budget in 10 years, achieve $9 trillion in ten-year savings, including at least $300 billion the first year, to shrink the government down from 25 percent of the economy to 18 percent, and to throw the national debt clock into reverse. And we’ve done all of that.”

“Most importantly, this joint-session hearing proves that the winds in Washington are changing,” added Clancy. “The American people are ready for big bold cuts and eliminating entire departments, and the representatives on the hill are finally hearing their call. It’s very exciting stuff.”

For more information, please visit http://www.freedomworks.org/tea-party-debt-commission. For press inquiries, contact FreedomWorks Media Coordinator Jackie Bodnar at jbodnar@freedomworks.org. Follow the whole day’s events on Twitter at #TPDC.