PETERSON-PEW COMMISSION ON BUDGET REFORM
CHAIRMEN For Immediate Release For information contact
BILL FRENZEL
TIM PENNY
Monday, December 14, 2009 Kate Brown (202) 596-3365
CHARLIE STENHOLM brown@[Link]
COMMISSIONERS Bipartisan Commission Calls on Policy Makers
BARRY ANDERSON to Tackle the Federal Debt
ROY ASH
Monday, December 14, 2009
CHARLES BOWSHER
STEVE COLL
DAN CRIPPEN
Washington–The Peterson-Pew Commission on Budget Reform today outlined
VIC FAZIO a plan for Congress and the Administration to begin working now to
WILLIS GRADISON significantly reduce the national debt, which is currently $7.6 trillion. Red Ink
WILLIAM GRAY, III Rising, the Commission’s first report, calls on policy makers to enact both
WILLIAM HOAGLAND
spending cuts and tax increases to shift our nation’s fiscal course.
DOUGLAS HOLTZ-EAKIN
JIM JONES
LOU KERR The bipartisan group is comprised of former Members of Congress, including
JIM KOLBE co-chairs Bill Frenzel, Tim Penny and Charlie Stenholm, as well as former
JAMES LYNN
heads of the Office of Management and Budget, the Congressional Budget
JAMES MCINTYRE, JR.
DAVID MINGE
Office, the Government Accountability Office, and other fiscal experts. The
JIM NUSSLE group recommends that Congress and the White House:
MARNE OBERNAUER, JR.
JUNE O’NEILL • Adopt an ambitious, but achievable target that would reduce the
RUDOLPH PENNER
PETER PETERSON
public debt to 60 percent of GDP by 2018;
ROBERT REISCHAUER • Negotiate a specific package of spending reductions and tax increases
ALICE RIVLIN that are gradually phased in to protect the recovering economy; and
MARTIN SABO • Create an automatic enforcement mechanism to keep revenues and
GENE STEUERLE
spending on target.
DAVID STOCKMAN
PAUL VOLCKER
CAROL COX WAIT ***To view the full report, please go to [Link]***
DAVID M. WALKER
JOSEPH WRIGHT, JR.
“The public debt is an economic time bomb that must be addressed by
Congress and the Administration,” said David M. Walker, president and CEO
PRESIDENT
of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. “In this year alone, the public debt rose
MAYA MACGUINEAS
by nearly $2 trillion, and it is headed much higher in coming years. That kind
of dramatic growth is not sustainable and threatens the foundations of our
economy.”
1899 L Street NW • 4th Floor • Washington, DC 20036 • Phone: 202-986-2700 • Fax: 202-986-3696 • [Link]
“We hope this report will be a rallying point for citizens and policy makers to restore the
nation’s financial strength,” said Rebecca W. Rimel, president and CEO of The Pew
Charitable Trusts. “Putting our financial house in order is a prerequisite to addressing
the other challenges that confront us.”
Under reasonable assumptions, the public debt is projected to grow steadily from 53
percent of GDP in 2009 to 85 percent in 2018, 100 percent in 2022, and 200 percent in
2038. Such high levels of debt would jeopardize the American standard of living and
weaken the economy. And, as more government resources are used to finance interest
payments, less would be available for other priorities, such as tax relief or spending on
popular programs.
Red Ink Rising makes clear that fiscal problems of this extent will take time to fix,
especially in light of the current state of the economy, but it also emphasizes that
creditors need to see that the United States is serious about stabilizing the federal debt
over a reasonable timeframe.
“The biggest factor in pulling us out of this fiscal mess is political will,” said Maya
MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, which
manages the Peterson-Pew Commission’s work. “Any meaningful effort to address
these budget problems will have to be bipartisan, giving both major political parties
cover to make the tough choices necessary. Leaders will need to come together and
courageously confront these tough choices, including the significant spending cuts and
tax increases required to shift our fiscal course. We believe the fiscal goal we propose of
stabilizing the debt as a share of the economy will help focus this effort.”
In 2010, the Commission will publish a detailed companion report with additional
recommendations on reforming the budget process. That report will also propose
budget process tools to help lawmakers reach and maintain a stable level of debt.
About the Peterson-Pew Commission on Budget Reform
The Peter G. Peterson Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Committee for a
Responsible Federal Budget have launched a landmark partnership to make
recommendations for how best to improve the nation’s fiscal future and how best to
strengthen the federal budget process. The Commission began its work in January 2009
and will continue to meet until December 2010. Additional information on the Peterson-
Pew Commission on Budget Reform is available at: [Link].
About the Peter G. Peterson Foundation
Founded by the senior chairman of The Blackstone Group with a personal commitment
of at least $1 billion, the Foundation is dedicated to increasing public awareness of the
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nature and urgency of key fiscal challenges threatening America's future, and to
accelerating action on them. To address these challenges successfully, the Foundation
works to bring Americans together to find sensible, long-term solutions that transcend
age, party lines and ideological divides in order to achieve real results. [Link]
About The Pew Economic Policy Group
The Pew Economic Policy Group is a division of The Pew Charitable Trusts that
promotes policies and practices that strengthen the U.S. economy. Pew is a nonprofit
organization that applies a rigorous, analytical approach to improve public policy,
inform the public and stimulate civic life. [Link]
About the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget is a bipartisan, non-profit organization
committed to educating the public about issues that have significant fiscal policy impact.
The Board is made up of many of the past Directors of the Budget Committees, the
Congressional Budget Office, the Office of Management and Budget and the Federal
Reserve Board. [Link]