WHAT:
This public forum will map the hard choices leading to a sustainable, long-term fiscal policy – one of the first such events to assess the situation following the passage of U.S. health care reform. The Fiscal Solutions Tour is sponsored by the University of Maryland School of Public Policy and the non-partisan Concord Coalition.
U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and a panel of top U.S. experts from across the political spectrum will speak and engage in audience Q&A on Thursday, April 1 at the College Park campus of the University of Maryland.
A digital feed will be available to media via the Washington, D.C. AVOC switch. The event will also be streamed live on the Internet. The forum is free and open to the public.
Among the questions to be considered: In the post-health-care-reform world, with its new political fault lines, what are the big fiscal issues we face, what solutions can we imagine and how might we build political support for taking the steps toward a sound fiscal policy?
“Now that the nation has made a step toward health reform, the long-term fiscal issues are even more sharply drawn,” says moderator Donald F. Kettl, dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Policy. “The recent sharp exchanges about the dollar with China give us a clear lesson about the global implications of our actions, as well as the costs of failing to frame a sustainable long-term fiscal policy. Deep fissures are clear in the political landscape, but the budget issues are even more clear. Our goal is to provide a clear-eyed look at the choices we face – and the consequences if we fail to make them.”
Format: Moderator Donald Kettl will open the event with a brief outline of the fiscal challenges faced by the nation and introduce the panelists. Each panelist will have about 15 minutes to speak followed by about 30 minutes of audience Q&A. An audience of 75 is expected, drawn from the University of Maryland and the broader Washington, D.C. community.
The University of Maryland School of Public Policy is one of the nation's leading graduate programs devoted to the study of public policy, management and international affairs. The forum is hosted by I. M. “Mac” Destler, the School’s Saul I. Stern Professor of Civic Engagement.
The Concord Coalition is a nationwide, non-partisan, grassroots organization advocating generationally responsible fiscal policy. The Concord Coalition was founded in 1992 by the late former Senator Paul Tsongas (D-Mass.), former Senator Warren Rudman (R-N.H.), and former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Peter Peterson.
WHO:
Congressman Steny H. Hoyer, U.S. House Majority Leader, Rep. Maryland's Fifth Congressional District. Now serving his 15th term, Hoyer is also the longest-serving Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland. http://hoyer.house.gov/
David M. Walker, president and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, leading its efforts to promote federal financial responsibility. Previously, he served as the Comptroller General of the United States and headed the U.S. Government Accountability Office. http://www.pgpf.org/about/leadership/dmw/
William D. Novelli, professor in the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. From 2001 to 2009, he was CEO of AARP, a membership organization of over 40 million people 50 and older. He has been asked to serve as a member of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Debt Reduction Task Force. http://explore.georgetown.edu/news/?ID=40485&PageTemplateID=288
Andrew G. Biggs, resident scholar, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. He formerly served as the principal deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration. http://www.aei.org/scholar/135
Robert L. Bixby, executive director, The Concord Coalition, a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to fiscal responsibility. Previously, Bixby practiced law and served as the Chief Staff Attorney of the Court of Appeals of Virginia. http://www.concordcoalition.org/about-us/national-staff/bbixby
Donald F. Kettl (moderator), dean of the Maryland School of Public Policy and a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Kettl is the author or editor of a dozen books and monographs, including: The Next Government of the United States: Why Our Institutions Fail Us and How to Fix Them. http://www.publicpolicy.umd.edu/directory/kettl
I.M. Destler (respondent and host), Stern Professor of Civic Engagement at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, whose research focuses on the politics and processes of U.S. foreign policymaking and international trade. His books include In the Shadow of the Oval Office (co-author) and American Trade. http://www.publicpolicy.umd.edu/directory/destler
WHEN:
Thursday, April 1, 2010 from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
WHERE:
Orem Hall, Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center, University of Maryland, College Park.Directions and Parking online: http://www.riggs.umd.edu/
RSVP:This event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. Please RSVP online: [email protected] or call (301) 405-4638 (please indicate you are calling about the Fiscal Solutions Tour.).
DIGITAL BROADCAST FEED AVAILABLE:
Digital Broadcast Feed Available at the Verizon AVOC switch in Washington, D.C. hosted by Crawford Communications. Contact Tiffany Warnock for costs at 703-750-0010 (office); 703-342-9919 (cell); [email protected]LIVE STREAMING:
Live audio and video will be available online and also archived for viewing after the event.http://bit.ly/91mLMF