Warner: If Congress fails to cut deficit, "fire us all"

NORFOLK

If Congress is unable to find a bipartisan solution to the nation’s debt crisis, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner says voters ought to start over with a clean slate.

“If we can’t get this fixed, you’ve got to fire us all,” Warner said. “I’m serious.”

He made the remarks this morning while speaking at the Virginia Women’s Conference at Old Dominion University. The Democrat apologized for veering into politics at the event, which was organized by his staff to empower women.

“This is not a political day, but I can’t get in front of three people without talking about this stuff,” he said.

Warner was among the bipartisan Gang of Six that unsuccessfully pushed a proposal that included up to $3.7 trillion in budget cuts and new revenues over the next decade.

Later, the freshman senator pressed Democratic leaders to appoint him to the powerful deficit-cutting supercommittee tasked with finding $1.2 trillion in deficit-reduction measures by Wednesday. He wasn’t included, and now the committee appears at a deadlock.

Warner, speaking to the group of women at ODU, warned about the consequences of failing to work together to reign in the national debt, which this week surpassed $15 trillion.

“Anyone who tells you we can fix this just by cutting more programs or by raising taxes on the rich – they’re just not telling you the truth,” he said.