Benoit Joins Group to Push for Debt Deal

Anne Arundel County Council member Jamie Benoit (D-4) is helping lead a coalition urging Congress to reach a deal to address the nation’s debt problem. 

Benoit and a wide range of business and political leaders in Maryland announced the launch of the Campaign to Fix the Debt, with a goal of finding long-term solutions to the debt crisis while avoiding the so-called “fiscal cliff” of tax increases and immediate spending cuts. 

Benoit, an Army veteran who is the founder of Federal Data Systems, Inc., serves on the Maryland Steering Committee and is the small business representative on its three-person CEO Leadership Council. 

In a press release, he said Marylanders have already been impacted by the general uncertainty regarding spending cuts and taxation, and urged President Obama and Congress to strike a deal before January 1, when sequestration kicks in.

“The debt is a massive problem, but it’s one that affects every layer of the economy. It’s not just big companies that are feeling this, it’s smaller, veteran-owned companies like us, too,” Benoit said. 

Benoit said he will lead a “fly-in” to Washington next week where coalition members will meet with lawmakers.

The Maryland Steering Committee of the Campaign to Fix the Debt includes both Democrats and Republicans. Members include Chip DiPaula, a former chief of staff to former Gov. Robert Ehrlich, former Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith, and Donald Fry, the President and CEO of the Greater Baltimore Committee. 

For a full list of members and to see the group’s petition, head to www.fixthedebt.org.