Rep. Cuellar Blue Dogs Call for Fiscally-Responsible Tax Reform at White House Meeting

As co-chair of the Blue Dog Coalition I believe it is important for lawmakers in Washington to put politics aside and come together to develop solutions that move our country forward. . . Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON D.C. Yesterday Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) co-chair of the Blue Dog Coalition attended a meeting with President Trump alongside several other members of the Blue Dog Coalition House Republicans and other House Democrats. He issued the following statement on the September 13 meeting at the White House:

I was glad to be able to join the President at the White House yesterday along with several other members of the Blue Dog Coalition and other House Republicans and Democrats for a meeting to discuss several issues including tax reform health care and other issues of potential common ground. By coming to members of the Blue Dog Coalition and other Democrats the White House is recognizing that the only way to get big things done in Washington is to do it in a bipartisan way.  However its important to remember that the President doesnt write the lawsCongress writes the laws. As is always the case when youre working with folks on the other side of the aisle there were areas where we agreed and there were areas where we disagreed and both sides may have to find a way to compromise. It is not surprising that the majority of the Democrats in the meeting were Blue Dogs. During this Congress we have been particularly focused on getting a seat at the negotiating table with House Republicans on tax reform and have been calling for Congress to focus less on the politicsand more on commonsense bipartisan solutions. During the meeting several of my Blue Dog colleagues and I brought up the point that any tax reform package must not worsen our nations unstainable debt. At a time when too many American families feel as though they havent fully recovered from the 2008 financial crisis our nation is on a fiscally-unsustainable path. The total public outstanding debt of the United States has surpassed $20 trillion for the first time in our countrys history and it continues to increase at an alarming rate. In other words we cant afford to risk another financial crisis with short-term gains. As co-chair of the Blue Dog Coalition I believe it is important for lawmakers in Washington to put politics aside and come together to develop solutions that move our country forward. My hope is that this is the dawn of a bipartisan age where Congress begins to recognize that the moderate wings of both parties are the key to getting things done in Washington."