{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://tsongas.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=49&itemid=1077", "Tsongas outlines budget priorities in letter to conference committee leaders", "2013-11-14", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "MA", "Niki Tsongas", "T000465", "tsongas.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Tsongas outlines budget priorities in letter to conference committee leaders  \r\n\tCongresswoman urges action on a balanced plan\r\n\r\n\tWASHINGTON, DC\u00a0\u2013 November 14, 2013 \u2013 This week, Congresswoman Niki Tsongas sent a letter to the bipartisan, bicameral budget conference committee tasked with negotiating the nation\u2019s long-term budget solution. The letter was sent to Senator Patty Murray, Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, and Representative Paul Ryan, Chairman of the House Budget Committee, as well as other members involved.\r\n\r\n\tTsongas wrote the letter to outline her ideas for a fair and balanced solution and to share the perspective and priorities of the Third District. In it, she urges her colleagues to find common ground in order to prevent another disastrous government shutdown, make a real down payment on our national debt, convert the harmful sequester cuts into targeted ones balanced by new revenue, and incorporate a true bipartisan approach that incorporates sacrifices from both sides.\r\n\r\n\tThe conference committee met for the first time on October 30 and is scheduled to finish their deliberations in December.\r\n\r\n\tThe full text of Congresswoman Tsongas\u2019 letter can be found below and attached to this message.\r\n\r\n\t\u00a0\r\n\r\n\tNovember 12, 2013\r\n\r\n\t\u00a0\r\n\r\n\tThe Honorable Paul Ryan\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Honorable Patty Murray\r\n\r\n\tChairman\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Chairman\r\n\r\n\tCommittee on the Budget\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Committee on the Budget\r\n\r\n\tU.S. House of Representatives\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 U.S. Senate\r\n\r\n\tWashington, DC 20515\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Washington, DC 20515\r\n\r\n\t\u00a0\r\n\r\n\tDear Chairman Ryan and Chairman Murray,\r\n\r\n\tAs you negotiate a budget agreement over the next six weeks, you have a tremendous responsibility to create a framework that removes the threat of another government shutdown, repeals harmful sequestration cuts, and puts our long-term budget back into balance while spurring economic growth.\u00a0 This responsibility will require Congress to step back from the partisan gamesmanship of recent weeks and make bold and responsible compromises.\r\n\r\n\tI write to share with you the perspective and priorities of the district I represent, priorities that are shared by communities throughout the country.\u00a0 These priorities include preventing another disastrous shutdown by finalizing responsible discretionary spending numbers, preventing deep cuts from undermining our fragile economic recovery and harming our national security, making a real down payment on our national debt through a balance of new revenue and targeted cuts, incorporating broadly-shared sacrifices, and protecting the guarantees of Social Security, Medicare, and veterans\u2019 benefits.\r\n\r\n\tMy constituents were deeply frustrated earlier this month when we witnessed the first government shutdown in almost two decades, which took hundreds of thousands of public and private employees off the job, delayed vital public services, and impacted millions of Americans, all because a small group in Congress insisted upon ideological purity at the expense of levelheaded compromise.\u00a0 Day after day during the shutdown as we inched ever closer to an unprecedented default on our promises, we saw the undeniable failure of single-party solutions and rigid adherence to partisan dogma.\u00a0 The final deal ultimately passed by bipartisan majorities in both chambers and signed by the president, which included no partisan conditions and represented give-and-take by both sides, ought to serve as a model for upcoming budget talks.\r\n\r\n\tOne place to start is by setting a realistic discretionary spending level to spur economic growth and protect our national security.\u00a0 As Republican House Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers noted earlier this year, \u201cthe first major attempt by the House to consider and pass an Appropriations bill that funds domestic programs under the austere level delineated under the Budget Control Act and the House budget resolution\u201d failed to receive support from House members because it had to abide by \u201cunrealistic and ill-conceived discretionary cuts.\u201d\u00a0 Repealing sequestration\u2014with its devastating impact on the investments necessary for securing our long-term global competitiveness like education, infrastructure, medical and scientific research, and national security\u2014is not a Democratic or Republican priority, but a priority for the Congress and the nation.\u00a0 I strongly encourage you to reach an agreement on realistic spending levels before the disparities between the House and Senate budgets set the stage for another continuing resolution, or worse, shutdown.\r\n\r\n\tIn addition to this most basic responsibility, you have an opportunity to craft a long-term budget that continues to fine-tune the health care bill so that it can optimally serve the American people and provides a balanced approach to deficit reduction that combines targeted spending cuts with new revenue sources\u2014just as every bipartisan group that has looked at this problem has suggested.\r\n\r\n\tAvoiding the consequences of stalemate will require reaching a deal that includes shared sacrifices.\u00a0 Both parties will have to make real concessions.\u00a0 This is both just and pragmatic. As conservative columnist David Brooks has noted, a deal that demands sacrifice from one group but not another is not sustainable in our democracy over the long run.\u00a0 To return our deficits to the surpluses we ran in the late 1990s and pay down our long-term debt will require a sustained commitment from the entire nation, a commitment that will only come if a deal is seen as fair.\r\n\r\n\tWith those principles in mind, I believe that a plan that truly addresses the challenges we face should include some portion of revenue increases and should not fundamentally alter the Social Security and Medicare programs upon which seniors rely.\u00a0 It should also ensure we have the resources to adequately care for our veterans.\u00a0 I believe it is both responsible and fair to end tax breaks for oil companies that receive billions of dollars in federal subsidies especially as they are turning record-breaking profits, to end other egregious tax loopholes, and to restore common sense to the tax subsidies that benefit the wealthiest few.\u00a0 Likewise, it is important that we make reforms to all components of federal spending, including entitlement programs.\u00a0 I support efforts to strengthen Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid for years to come, but will reject any attempts to privatize these programs, or to turn them into block grants or vouchers that transfer those costs onto those least able to afford it.\u00a0 After years of paying into these programs, our seniors and those about to retire deserve the peace of mind knowing that their retirement security is protected and that they won\u2019t have to deplete a lifetime of savings if they require longer hospital stays, assisted living, or a complicated surgery.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\r\n\r\n\tA responsible plan that reduces the deficit in a balanced way while protecting American jobs is vital to our nation\u2019s economic strength and prosperity.\u00a0 Thank you for your leadership and for your consideration.\u00a0 I look forward to working with you to ensure that our nation pays its bills and protects our future.\r\n\r\n\t\u00a0\r\n\r\n\tSincerely,\r\n\r\n\t\u00a0\r\n\r\n\tNiki Tsongas\r\n\r\n\tMember of Congress\r\n\r\n\t\u00a0\r\n\r\n\tCC:\r\n\r\n\tThe Honorable Tom Price\r\n\r\n\tThe Honorable Tom Cole\r\n\r\n\tThe Honorable Diane Black\r\n\r\n\tThe Honorable Chris Van Hollen\r\n\r\n\tThe Honorable James Clyburn\r\n\r\n\tThe Honorable Nita Lowey\r\n\r\n\tThe Honorable Ron Wyden\r\n\r\n\tThe Honorable Bill Nelson\r\n\r\n\tThe Honorable Debbie Stabenow\r\n\r\n\tThe Honorable Bernie Sanders\r\n\r\n\tThe Honorable Sheldon Whitehouse\r\n\r\n\tThe Honorable Mark Warner\r\n\r\n\tThe Honorable Jeff Merkley\r\n\r\n\tThe Honorable Christopher Coons\r\n\r\n\tThe Honorable Tammy Baldwin\r\n\r\n\tThe Honorable Tim Kaine\r\n\r\n\tThe Honorable Angus King\r\n\r\n\tThe Honorable Jeff Sessions\r\n\r\n\tThe Honorable Charles Grassley\r\n\r\n\tThe Honorable Michael Enzi\r\n\r\n\tThe Honorable Mike Crapo\r\n\r\n\tThe Honorable Lindsay Graham\r\n\r\n\tThe Honorable Rob Portman\r\n\r\n\tThe Honorable Pat Toomey\r\n\r\n\tThe Honorable Ron Johnson\r\n\r\n\tThe Honorable Kelly Ayotte\r\n\r\n\tThe Honorable Roger Wicker\r\n\r\n\t####", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://tsongas.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=49&itemid=1077"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.8882439471781254, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}