Fix The Debt

Wanda Rohm, advisory board member of the University of Texas at San Antonio Small Business, and Maria Garza Brown, founder of MGB Solutions, who are members of the Texas chapter state steering committee, joined a diverse group of concerned individuals from across the country to converge on Washington, DC, to call on lawmakers to address the rapidly approaching fiscal cliff and the country’s long-term federal debt problems.  The Texas delegation joined representatives from eight states urging immediate and meaningful reforms to protect the U.S. economy.  

“Washington can learn a thing or two from Texas. Our leaders in Washington must ‘Go Big’ on a long-term solution to our national debt,” said Rohm.  “This solution must be bipartisan and take in account all aspects of the budget. Members of Congress and voters, both, are going to have to learn to make sacrifices in order for us to get our beloved country out of debt!”

“As a small business owner who has to manage finances every day, I understand the importance of keeping one’s fiscal house in order.  Businesses can’t prosper when they are facing overwhelming debts,” said Brown.  “It’s a simple premise:  never borrow more than you can pay back. And the nation must abide by those same basic rules if it wants to remain prosperous.  As a mother of two children, I am gravely concerned about the future they will inherit.  We have both a moral and financial obligation to Fix the Debt.”

Fix the Debt-Texas Co-Chair and former U.S. Representative Charlie Stenholm (D-TX) added, “I served as a Democratic member of Congress for thirteen terms. During my years in Congress, I watched the legislative body become more and more partisan. I implore current members of Congress to take the fiscal cliff seriously and collaborate on a debt deal before it is too late. Time is running out before our country careens into a second recession. During this lame duck session, Congress must do the right thing for this country.”

Today, the national debt exceeds $16 trillion and continues to grow. On January 1, the country faces a hazardous combination of spending cuts and tax expirations – known as the “fiscal cliff” – that the Congressional Budget Office predicts would cause the economy to shrink in 2013.  According to figures released by the American Action Forum, Texas could lose 824,828 jobs if the fiscal cliff is not averted.

Organized by the Campaign to Fix the Debt, Rohm and Brown joined business leaders, former elected officials, policy experts, and other concerned citizens from eight states for the fly-in event to ask lawmakers to work together on solutions to the U.S. debt problems.