Tennessee Chambers of Commerce Endorse Corker CAP Act to Cut Spending & Grow the Economy
WASHINGTON (July 7, 2011) – U.S. Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., today announced that 15 chambers of commerce from across Tennessee and the Chattanooga Regional Manufacturers Association have endorsed his legislation to cut spending and grow the economy. The CAP Act, S. 245, would, for the first time, set an across-the-board, binding cap on all federal spending. The fiscal straitjacket created by the CAP Act would result in $7.6 trillion less spending over a 10-year period.
“Growing support from Tennessee’s job creators for the CAP Act underscores the need for us to address out-of-control spending at the federal level in order to grow the economy,” Corker said. “It’s been nearly 800 days since the Senate even passed a budget, and on our current path, our debt will more than double in the next 10 years. This situation is totally unsustainable, creating tremendous uncertainty and causing companies not to invest because they are concerned about whether Congress is actually going to deal with our indebtedness in a way that makes progress. We can reverse this trend by putting enforceable limits on all future spending through the CAP Act, which will show the business community and the world community that we have the ability to have discipline and act responsibly. I believe getting our country back on a path to fiscal sanity would unleash tremendous amounts of investment in this country to help create jobs.”
The organizations endorsing the CAP Act include:
Blount County Chamber of Commerce
Bristol Chamber of Commerce
Brownsville-Haywood County Chamber of Commerce
Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce
Dyersburg/Dyer County Chamber of Commerce
Gatlinburg Chamber of Commerce
Humboldt Chamber of Commerce
Johnson City Chamber of Commerce
Kingsport Area Chamber of Commerce
Knoxville Area Chamber Partnership
Maury County Chamber and Economic Alliance
Morristown Area Chamber of Commerce
Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
Shelby County Chambers of Commerce Alliance (comprised of the Arlington, Bartlett, Collierville, Germantown, Lakeland, and Millington chambers)
Wayne County Chamber of Commerce
Chattanooga Regional Manufacturers Association
The growing list of Senate sponsors of the CAP Act includes Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), Joe Lieberman (ID-Conn.), Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.).
Representatives Jim Cooper (D-TN-5) and Jimmy Duncan (R-TN-2) have introduced a companion version of the bill in the House, which is cosponsored by Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-6), Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-7), Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN-4), Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-TN-8), Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN-3), Rep. Jim Renacci (R-OH-16), and Rep. Phil Roe (R-TN-1).
Specifically, the CAP Act would:
(1) Put in place a 10-year glide path to cap all spending – discretionary and mandatory – to a declining percentage of the country’s gross domestic product, eventually bringing spending down from the current level, 24.7 percent of gross domestic product, to the 40-year historical level of 20.6 percent, and
(2) If Congress fails to meet the annual cap, require the Office of Management and Budget to make evenly distributed, simultaneous cuts throughout the federal budget to bring spending down to the pre-determined level. Only a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress could override the binding cap, and
(3) For the first time, eliminate the deceptive “off-budget” distinction for Social Security – providing a complete and accurate assessment of all federal spending.
For more information on the CAP Act, visit: http://corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=the-cap-act.