III 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 331 

Expressing the sense of the Senate that Congress should ‘‘Go Big’’ in its 

attempts toward deficit reduction. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 16, 2011 

Mr. KIRK (for himself, Mr. MANCHIN, Mr. BEGICH, Mr. CONRAD, Mrs. 

HUTCHISON, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. LIEBERMAN, and Mr. WARNER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 

Finance 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Senate that Congress should 

‘‘Go Big’’ in its attempts toward deficit reduction. 

Whereas the Government of the United States has reached 

record levels of debt, with total debt outstanding exceeding $14,970,000,000,000; 

Whereas the publicly held debt of the United States has 

reached 67 percent of Gross Domestic Product and is 

projected to increase to 100 percent by 2021; 

Whereas the Congressional Budget Office estimated the deficit for fiscal year 2011 at approximately 

$1,300,000,000,000; 

Whereas the outlook on the deficits and debt of the United 

States has caused the Nation’s long-term credit rating to 


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•SRES 331 IS 

be downgraded for the first time in history by at least 

one Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization, and its credit rating could potentially be downgraded again; 

Whereas the Budget Control Act of 2011 has empowered the 

Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to propose 

significant and important reductions to the deficit, and 

failure to secure sufficient reductions will trigger substantial cuts in critical areas; 

Whereas the presidentially appointed National Commission 

on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform has created a framework to reduce the Federal deficit by approximately 

$4,000,000,000,000; 

Whereas numerous budget experts, leading political figures, 

and independent groups of differing political ideologies 

have advocated for a ‘‘Go Big’’ strategy for deficit reduction; and 

Whereas 45 United States Senators have previously supported the goal of achieving greater deficit reduction: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that Con2 gress should pass a deficit reduction measure that— 

3 (1) includes enough deficit reduction to stabilize 

4 the Federal debt as a share of the economy, put the 

5 debt on a downward path, and provide fiscal cer6 tainty; 

7 (2) reduces the deficit by at least 

8 $4,000,000,000,000 over 10 years in order to reas9 sure financial markets; 


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•SRES 331 IS 

1 (3) encompasses the principles of reform, 

2 shared sacrifice, and compromise; 

3 (4) uses established, bipartisan debt and deficit 

4 reduction frameworks as a starting point for discus5 sions; 

6 (5) focuses on the major parts of the budget 

7 and includes long-term entitlement reforms and pro8 growth tax reform; 

9 (6) is structured to grow the economy in the 

10 short, medium, and long terms to create jobs in the 

11 United States and increase United States competi12 tiveness; 

13 (7) builds a foundation of investor confidence 

14 that preserves the United States dollar and Federal 

15 debt securities as the global standard of safety and 

16 stability; 

17 (8) works to include the American public and 

18 the business community in a broader discussion 

19 about the breadth of the issues, challenges, and op20 portunities facing us; and 

21 (9) includes tax reform that guarantees deficit 

22 reduction and economic growth to rebuild America. 

Æ 


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