SHAHEEN: TIME IS NOW TO COME TOGETHER FOR LONG-TERM, BIPARTISAN DEAL TO ADDRESS DEBT AND DEFICIT

(Somersworth, N.H.) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) today spoke about the need for a comprehensive plan to address the United States debt and deficits during a tour of Velcro USA in Somersworth. Shaheen called on Congress to avoid the automatic spending cuts and tax increases scheduled to take effect January 1^st and come to the table to achieve a balanced deficit reduction plan that addresses discretionary spending, mandatory spending and revenues.

As she toured the company’s manufacturing facility, Shaheen was briefed by Velcro company leadership about how across-the-board cuts would negatively impact Velcro’s military product lines. 

“We need to take action.  Failure to achieve a solution would have severe consequences for our economy and the middle class,” Shaheen said. “Businesses in our state, including Velcro USA, want us to resolve this crisis, provide certainty and avoid across-the-board cuts.  That’s why we need bipartisan action on a long-term, comprehensive deficit reduction plan.”

"Velcro Industries has a diverse spectrum of customers and products on both a regional and global scale that allows us to manage downward cycles in one or two segments of our business.  However, should the nation go over the approaching ‘fiscal cliff,’ businesses in New Hampshire could potentially be impacted," said Scott Filion, President of Velcro Americas. "We support the efforts of Senator Shaheen and her colleagues on both sides of the aisle who are working to put politics aside and act in the best interest of our national and economic security."

Velcro USA is a worldwide leader in fastening equipment and has two locations in New Hampshire, including the company’s headquarters in Manchester. Between its facilities in Somersworth and Manchester, Velcro USA employs more than 750 workers in the state. The company manufactures products for a wide array of markets and has specifically expressed concern with how cuts to government defense programs would impact their manufacture of military products.

The Congressional Budget Office reports that if Congress does not reach a deal, the combination of spending cuts and tax increases is expected to send our economy back into a recession and push the unemployment rate from 7.9 to 9.1 percent in 2013. Shaheen has repeatedly stressed the need to get a deal done before the automatic cuts take place and has urged her colleagues on Capitol Hill to be willing to consider all aspects of the budget to come to a comprehensive agreement.