The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget – along with many other lawmakers, business leaders, former government officials, and policy experts – has called on the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (“Super Committee”) to go beyond its current mandate of finding $1.5 trillion in savings to recommend two to three times as much in order to stabilize the federal debt and reduce it as a share of the economy.

The benefits of a large plan are numerous for both economic and political reasons. Economically, a stable and declining debt path offers a stronger economy down the road, improved business and market certainty, and the reduced risk of a fiscal crisis. Politically, a larger plan can actually improve the chances of the Super Committee succeeding by offering the tradeoffs that are necessary for a deal, a sense of shared sacrifice among constituencies, the chance to show that Washington can still govern, and the political upside of success.

While we urge the Super Committee to Go Big, we recognize they may not be able to agree on all the details of a comprehensive plan before the November 23 deadline. This, however, should not be an excuse to settle for a smaller, less comprehensive plan. If the Super Committee only agrees to a small plan or needs more time to work out the technical details of a larger plan, it is likely to require either extending the deadline for the Super Committee or using a two-stage process. A credible process must:

• Go Big: Achieve savings large enough to stabilize and reduce the debt as a share of the economy;
• Include a large and meaningful down payment;
• Include a detailed framework for the second stage;
• Put in place an expedited process to achieve additional savings within the next three to six months, with fast-track status;
• Allow for the consideration of other plans if larger plan is not adopted;
• Establish a credible enforcement mechanism to ensure the required savings are achieved.

Click here to read the full paper on CRFB.org.

Click here to read the full PDF of this paper, or download it to the right.