Washington, DC – Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and Mark Udall today hosted a forum in Denver with Presidential Fiscal Commission Co-Chairman Senator Alan Simpson (R) to discuss our nation’s fiscal condition and potential solutions to the problem. 

While Senators Bennet and Udall had to remain in Washington as negotiations on a possible government shutdown continued, they opened the forum with remarks via Skype.  To download broadcast-quality video of Bennet and Udall’s opening remarks, please click here.  Pictures of Bennet and Udall as they prepared to Skype are attached.

Colorado’s Common Sense Forum on the Nation’s Debt and Deficit Crisis featured Colorado leaders, including former Senator Gary Hart and former U.S. Representative David Skaggs. Other national leaders on debt reduction also took part in the discussion, including Alice M. Rivlin, former Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for Responsible Federal Budget. 

Last year, the Fiscal Commission proposed a comprehensive plan that included reductions to discretionary spending, changes to entitlement programs and tax reform to reduce the national debt.  Although the proposal did not receive the required 14 of 18 votes to trigger Congressional consideration, it received majority support from 11 members.  Five senators on the commission supported the proposal, including Democrat Richard Durbin of Illinois and Republican Tom Coburn of Oklahoma.

Bennet and Udall have called for the proposal to come to Congress for debate and an up or down vote.  He is also supporting the work of the Senate’s ‘gang of six,’ which is crafting legislation based on the Fiscal Commission’s proposal.  Earlier this month, Bennet teamed with Senator Mike Johanns (R-NE) leading 62 other Senators in calling on President Obama to include a comprehensive deficit reduction package in any negotiations on the budget.