The

Honorable Mark Udall The Honorable Michael Bennet United States Senate United States Senate Hart Office Building Suite SH-328 458 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Mike Coffman The Honorable Doug Lamborn U.S. House of Representatives U.S. House of Representatives 1222 Longworth House Office Building 437 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Washington D.C. 20515 The Honorable Diana DeGette The Honorable Ed Perlmutter Chief Deputy Whip U.S. House of Representatives U.S. House of Representatives 1221 Longworth House Office Building 2335 Rayburn House Office Building Washington D.C. 20515 Washington D.C. 20515 The Honorable Jared Polis The Honorable Cory Gardner U.S. House of Representatives U.S. House of Representatives 501 Cannon HOB 213 Cannon House Office Building Washington D.C. 20515 Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Scott Tipton U.S. House of Representatives 218 Cannon House Office Building Washington DC 20515 December 3, 2012 Dear Senator Bennet, Senator Udall, Congressman Coffman, Congresswoman DeGette, Congressman Gardner, Congressman Lamborn, Congressman Perlmutter, Congressman Polis, and Congressman Tipton, We are writing on behalf of the Fix the Debt's Colorado Fiscal Leadership Council, a bipartisan group of Colorado business leaders. We believe the time has come for Congress - in conjunction with President Obama - to take the steps necessary during the lame duck

session that will lead to a comprehensive agreement for medium- and long-term deficit and debt reduction for the United States. The Colorado Fiscal Leadership Council is comprised of individuals from a variety of social, economic, and political perspectives, united in a common belief that America's ever- increasing federal debt is the most serious economic and national security threat facing the United States today. We must come together as a nation to fix it immediately. The Colorado Fiscal Leadership Council does not represent one ideological perspective or political party; we have coalesced around the following core principles and respectfully ask that you do the same: Policymakers should acknowledge that our growing debt is a serious threat to the economic well-being and security of the United States. It is urgent and essential that we put in place a plan to fix Americas debt. An effect plan must stabilize the debt as a share of the economy and put it on a downward path. This plan should be enacted now but implemented gradually to protect the fragile economic recovery and to give Americans time to prepare for the changes in the federal budget. In order to develop a fiscal plan that can succeed both financially and politically, it must be bipartisan and reforms to all areas of the budget should be included. The plan should: o Reform Medicare and Medicaid, improve efficiency in the overall health care system , and limit future cost growth; o Strengthen Social Security, so that it is solvent and will be there for future beneficiaries; and o Include comprehensive and pro-growth tax reform that lowers rates, raises revenues and reduces the deficit. The recommendations of the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles Commission and other recent bipartisan efforts, which saved $4 trillion and address all parts of the budget, provide an effective framework for such a plan. The plan should be conducive to long-term economic growth, protect the vulnerable, include credible enforcement mechanisms to ensure that debt reduction is achieved, and leave future generations better off. We recognize that achieving a comprehensive agreement before the end of the year may be unrealistic; we also believe that going over the "fiscal cliff" is not an option and that solutions that only serve to "kick the can down the road" are unacceptable. Debt and deficit negotiations must occur in good faith and not with eyes cast toward the next election cycle. We are not interested in fixing blame for the current debt/deficit environment; we are interested in finding solutions to it. This must be about compromise in the name of the greater good.

We urge you at this dire time to demonstrate leadership and courage; send a message to all Americans - and to democracies around the globe - that we can control our debt, meet our financial obligations, and care for our most vulnerable citizens. Ours is an impressively-cohesive delegation and we commend each of you for your devotion and public service to your communities, Colorado and the United States. We know you, as a group, are in a position to demonstrate leadership - not only to your respective parties but to other delegations as well. We are confident you will meet this challenge. Respectfully submitted, The Colorado Fiscal Leadership Council Bruce Alexander - Vectra Bank Phil Anschutz - The Anschutz Corporation Fred Barrett Bill Barrett Corporation Barbara Baumann - Cross Creek Energy Corporation Tony Best - SM Energy Buck Blessing - Griffis/Blessing Bob Coombe University of Denver Robert Boswell - Laramie Energy Katie Cattanach - INVESCO Private Capital (Ret.) Rob Cohen - IMA Financial Group, Inc. Peter Dea - Cirque Resources LP Tami Door - Downtown Denver Partnership Cole Finegan - Hogan Lovells John Freyer - Land Title Company Michael Fordyce - Craig Hospital Charlie Gallagher - Gallagher Enterprises Ken Gart - Gart Companies Steve Halstedt - Centennial Ventures Pat Hamill - Oakwood Homes Fred Hamilton - The Hamilton Companies Dale Harris - Davis, Graham & Stubbs Larissa Herda TW Telecom Dave Hoover Ball Corporation (Ret.) John Ikard - 1st Bank Doug Jones The Jones Realty Group Tom Jorden Cimarex Energy Rob Katz - Vail Resorts Gail Klapper - The Klapper Firm Buz Koelbel - Koelbel, Inc. Donna Lynne Kaiser Permanente Steve Meyer Shaw Construction Larry Mizel - MDC Holdings, Inc.

John Mork - Energy Corporation of America Zack Neumeyer - Sage Hospitality Michael O'Shaughnessy - Lario Oil & Gas Kate Paul - Delta Dental Plan of Colorado Lynn Peterson Kodiak Oil & Gas Blair Richardson - Bow River Capital Dan Ritchie - Denver Center for the Performing Arts Jay Seaton - Grand Junction Daily Sentinel Dick Shaw - Little Colorado David Siegel - Frontier Airlines Mark Smith East West Partners George Solich - Energy IV George Sparks - Denver Museum of Nature and Science Gary Stewart - Melange International LLC Fred Taylor - Northstar Investment Advisors Kent Thiry - Davita Inc. Jill Tiefenthaler Colorado College Tim Travis - Eaton Metal Products Mark Turnage Op Sec Security Technologies Lee White - George K. Baum & Co. Barth Whitham - Enduring Resources Wayne Williamson - Plexus Capital LLC cc: President of the United States Barack Obama The Honorable Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader The Honorable Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader The Honorable John Boehner, Speaker of the House The Honorable Eric Cantor, House Majority Leader The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader The Honorable Timothy Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury The Honorable Lamar Alexander, United States Senate The Honorable Saxby Chambliss, United States Senate The Honorable Tom Coburn, United States Senate The Honorable Kent Conrad, United States Senate The Honorable Mike Crapo, United States Senate The Honorable Dick Durbin, United States Senate The Honorable Mike Johanns, United State Senate The Honorable Mark Warner, United States Senate The Honorable Alan Simpson The Honorable Erskine Bowles