FreedomWorks to Hold First Tea Party Debt Commission Field Hearing in Salt Lake City

WHAT: This Thursday, FreedomWorks will host the first field hearing for the newly-formed Tea Party Debt Commission in Salt Lake City. Local activists are expected to attend, and encouraged to bring their own proposals for specific cuts to the federal budget. FreedomWorks will also present the initial findings of its online poll (www.TeaPartyDebtCommission.com) that allowed voters to prioritize spending cuts over the last month.

The committee consists of twelve members, paralleling the structure of the new super committee created by Congress as part of the recent debt ceiling compromise. Committee members are volunteer tea party activists from a variety of states across the country, including CO, CT, IN, NH, NV, NY, OH, PA, UT, and VA.

WHEN: Thursday, September 1, 2011, from 6:30 to 9:00 pm MDT.

Tentative Agenda:

6:30                        Call to order & Welcome (David Kirkham)

                                Pledge of Allegiance

                                Opening Statement (Matt Kibbe, FreedomWorks)

6:45                        Introductions and Opening Statements

7:00                        Presentation on America’s Fiscal Crisis

                                Dean F. Clancy, FreedomWorks

                                1) Scope & Nature of the Crisis

                                2) Possible Ways to Address the Crisis

                                3) Early Results of TPDC Crowd-Sourcing Efforts (Adam Brandon, FreedomWorks)

7:30                       Q&A and specific budget-cutting suggestions from the audience           

9:00                        Adjourn

WHERE: Noah’s meeting and conference center, 322 West 11000 South, South Jordan, UT, 84095.

WHY: FreedomWorks launched the Tea Party Debt Commission to give the American people a platform to propose specific cuts to the federal budget.  The goal of the effort will be to develop a budget that cuts at least $9 trillion in spending, reduces federal spending to 18 percent of GDP, reduces national debt to under 66 percent of GDP, and balances the budget within 10 years without tax hikes.

The Tea Party Debt Commission began its grassroots outreach with an online poll allowing voters to prioritize spending cuts. Each vote cuts a program, and projects the one-year and 10-year savings that cut would generate.

FreedomWorks plans to continue holding field hearings in key cities across the country. The next hearings are scheduled for September 23 in Orlando, FL, and Thursday, September 29 in Philadelphia, PA.

FreedomWorks recruits, educates, trains and mobilizes volunteer activists to fight for less government, lower taxes, and more freedom. Founded in 1984, FreedomWorks is headquartered in Washington, DC, and has over 1.4 million grassroots volunteers nationwide.