Washington, D.C—Today, U.S Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), incoming chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, released the following statement in support of Jacob Lew’s nomination to Secretary of Treasury.
“Jacob Lew is an outstanding choice to be the next Unites States Secretary of the Treasury and I look forward to working with my Senate colleagues to confirm him as quickly as possible. I’ve gotten to know Jack over the years and am extremely impressed with his dedication to public service, his understanding of fiscal policy and economic issues, and his commitment to working with anyone, from any party, who is interested in finding balanced solutions to our fiscal challenges that work for middle class families, create jobs, and lay down a strong foundation for long-term economic growth.
“Jack will step into this role at a time when our country is still recovering from the greatest economic and financial crisis since the Great Depression, when workers are still struggling to get back on the job, and while we still face serious budget challenges. These challenges would be difficult enough on their own, but Jack will also be stepping into this role at a time when some Republicans are threatening to use the full faith and credit of the United States of America as a bargaining chip in order to extract deep cuts from Medicare and other programs seniors and middle class families depend on. I sincerely hope that these Republicans will realize that playing politics with our debt limit could be deeply damaging to the economy, cause massive market turmoil, delay payments that our seniors, veterans, and small business owners depend on, and throw millions of workers out of their jobs.
“If Republicans continue along this dangerous path, however, I strongly support the position of President Obama and his Administration that we cannot and should not negotiate over whether or not the federal government will pay the bills Congress has already accrued, much of which comes from Republican priorities like tax breaks for the rich, two wars, and Medicare Part D. As any family knows, the time to debate is when you decide to use the charge card, not years later when those bills come due.
“We absolutely need to continue working together to reduce our deficit and debt and invest in our nation’s prosperity, but we cannot do that with the Republican Party threatening to hold our economy hostage to score political points and cut even more from families and seniors. I am confident that Jack’s involvement in bipartisan deals over the years will allow him to move into this new position seamlessly upon confirmation and continue working to tackle our budget and economic challenges in a balanced and bipartisan way.”
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