The New America Foundation hosted a discussion on Capitol Hill yesterday with a group of current and former members of Congress and White House officials from across the aisle, including Senators Warner and Mike Crapo (R-ID), Alice Rivlin, Erskine Bowles, Alan Greenspan, Pete Domenici, Governor John Engler, and the CEOs of the American Gas Association and Honeywell.

All of the participants urged the members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction  to exceed its mandate and "go big” by seeking deficit reduction of $4 trillion or more over the next decade.  The Joint Committee is only required to reach $1.5 trillion in savings; if a consensus on deficit reduction is not reached, $1.2 trillion in cuts would be enacted automatically. 

As a founding member of the Senate’s “Gang of Six,” Senator Warner has been working across the aisle to find a comprehensive solution to the deficit crisis. Last week, he helped lead a group of 38 Senators -- 19 Republicans, 18 Democrats and one Independent – that called for the Joint Committee to “go big.”

Reporter David Shepardson covered the event for The Detroit News:

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said the federal government gave business "an extra dose of uncertainty" this summer with the stalemate over the battle to raise the government's borrowing limit.

Former Michigan Gov. John Engler, who now heads the Business Roundtable, said the super committee needs to propose a big package of deficit cuts.

"The bigger it is, the harder it is to vote against — if it is a solution. You don't want to go small — you want to go humongous," Engler said, saying it is a "legislator's dream" to get a guaranteed up or down vote.

Full video from yesterday’s event is available here.