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4 ways you can influence the debt debate

The nonpartisan Campaign to Fix the debt offers four ways Americans can amplify their voice on the debt issue, including signing a petition.

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Carolyn Kaster/AP/file
House Speaker John Boehner (R) of Ohio listens as President Obama speaks to media in the Cabinet Room of the White House Sept. 3. As lawmakers end their summer recess, they are searching for a fiscal deal that avoids a government shutdown at the end of the month.

Here are four ways citizens can have their voice heard on the urgent need to sop up America’s red ink, according to the Campaign to Fix the Debt. This nonpartisan movement was founded by Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson to mobilize business, government, and policy leaders – and Americans everywhere – in an effort to pressure Washington. Find out more about these “action steps” at fixthedebt.org.

1. Sign a petition. Join nearly 400,000 Americans in signing a petition that tells Congress and the president to act now on a solution that is gradual and that addresses all parts of the budget.

2. Download a citizen tool kit. The kit explains how you can build a local movement to fix the national debt.

3. Volunteer. Put your Web, writing, organizing, and other skills to work as a volunteer. Become a local fix-the-debt leader.

4. Educate yourself. Use Fix the Debt’s resources to learn the facts about the debt and why it matters, how to set up a meeting with your local member of Congress, and where to access blogs, documents, and infographics on the debt.

– The Editors

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