Baucus responds to suggestions with a form letter

I wrote Baucus with my suggestions, and here is his non-response:

Dear Rich:

Thank you for contacting me with your thoughts about the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. I appreciate hearing from you.

The committee was established by the Budget Control Act of 2011, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama on August 2, 2011. The committee is tasked with identifying $1.2 trillion in cuts by late November; this is in addition to the nearly $1 trillion in cuts that went into effect automatically when the Budget Control Act was signed into law. The committee is split evenly with six Democratic and six Republican members. I'm humbled to be appointed to the committee, and I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to address the critical fiscal issues our country faces in a balanced and practical way. The legislation produced by the committee will not be amendable and will be guaranteed an up or down vote in the House and Senate by the end of the year.

If the committee fails to approve legislation providing for $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction, or if Congress fails to pass the bill produced by the committee, automatic across-the-board spending cuts would go into effect for fiscal years 2013-2021. Half of the cuts would come from defense programs and half would come from non-defense programs. Social Security, Medicaid, veterans' benefits, and pay for our military personnel are exempt from cuts. Medicare savings would be capped at 2% and limited to cuts to providers and insurance plans; there would be no cuts to beneficiaries.

For a summary of the Budget Control Act and more information about the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, please visit: http://dpc.senate.gov/docs/fs-112-1-23.pdf. You can also visit the committee's website at: http://www.deficitreduction.gov.

I recognize the concerns and suggestions I have heard from Montanans about the budget and the direction of our country. Your opinion is important to me. I hear what you're saying, and you can rest assured I will keep your thoughts firmly in mind as I continue my work in the Senate and on the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction.

Once again, thanks for getting in touch. Please contact me in the future with any additional comments or concerns. Also, you can visit my website at http://baucus.senate.gov to view information on current issues and to find out what I'm doing both here in Washington and at home to help Montana.