LD Khan Warns Lawmakers of Impact a Fiscal Commission Would Have on Working Families

Legislative Director Faraz Khan participated in a series of meetings this week with staff from several Congressional lawmakers to warn them of the dire impact that a Fiscal Commission would have on working families. 

The meetings were with the offices of Senators Maria Cantwell (WA) and Chris Coons (DE), among others, and come at a time when Congressional leaders continue to negotiate a deal on the final Fiscal Year 2024 spending for government agencies. 

Khan commented on the meetings:  “Congress should have passed these FY24 spending bills by the end of September 2023, yet we sit here at the end of February and we still do not have a deal in place.  Unfortunately, it appears that the creation of this Fiscal Commission could be a part of a negotiated deal for must-pass legislation which would be bad news for workers and retired workers, as these closed-door commissions have historically looked at cutting Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and federal employee pay and benefits, just to name a few, as the solution toward reducing spending. Congress has a number of fair and fiscally responsible ways to raise revenue by raising taxes on corporations, the ultra-wealthy, and on investment earnings.  IFPTE will continue to make lawmakers aware of the damage that a Fiscal Commission could do.” 

Read IFPTE’s point paper on why fiscal commissions are the wrong way to raise federal revenue and address federal debt.