Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) talked about the “fiscal cliff,” the automatic tax increases and spending cuts scheduled for January 2013 if Congress failed to reach a budget agreement before then. He said that the sequestration of funds would be more damaging than the tax increase and that the “fiscal cliff” would cause a “short-term bump to the economy,” which could be undone. Representative Frank also said the 2012 election was a mandate against severe domestic funding cuts. He was interviewed by Andrew Sorkin.
This was part of the fourth annual Washington Ideas Forum. held by The Atlantic, the Aspen Institute, and the Newseum in the Annenberg Theater.