Bipartisan on the debt | The Salt Lake Tribune

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For several months I have served on the Utah steering committee of the Campaign to Fix the Debt (www.fixthedebt.org), a national bipartisan group founded to encourage Congress to put our country on a fiscally sustainable path. Utah's committee — chaired by Scott Anderson and Kem Gardner — is a remarkable group of community leaders from both parties.

Last week, I attended a small Fix the Debt meeting with Rep. Jason Chaffetz. My Democratic counterpart was state Sen. Jim Dabakis, chair of the Utah Democratic Party.

I wish that meeting could have been televised. Had it been, my fellow citizens who have become jaded and cynical about our politics might have found new hope.

We had Dabakis, a well-known progressive leader, and Chaffetz, a standard-bearer for the right, engaged in heartfelt discussion of how important it is for both sides to work together on our national debt and deficits before it is too late. Both showed genuine concern for the next generation and urgency about putting our debt on a downward path. It was truly heartening.

I hope more Utahns will join with Fix the Debt to support these worthy efforts.

Howard M. Headlee President, Utah Bankers Association

Salt Lake City