Looming Financial Crisis: Red, White, and Blue Issue
The retirement of the baby boomers will present a demographic challenge to entitlement spending like we have never seen before in this country. The first wave of 3.2 million baby boomers turns 62 next year. In 2011, they'll turn 65 and be eligible for Medicare.
Republicans and Democrats have done the math – everyone seems to be aware that our country is living on borrowed dollars and borrowed time. It’s disheartening that we can agree on the problem, yet the partisan political divide in Congress has prevented active pursuit of solutions. The field of presidential hopefuls has also fallen silent on addressing entitlement reform.
We can’t afford to let the financial tsunami closing in on our country to be an issue that we let fall by the wayside. Mandatory spending today will translate into an unbearable burden for our grandchildren tomorrow. Getting our fiscal house in order isn’t a red or a blue issue; it’s a red, white, and blue issue.
Jim Cooper and I have introduced bipartisan legislation that will establish a commission, eight Republicans and eight Democrats, including up to four serving members of Congress. The SAFE Commission (H.R. 3654) would review entitlement spending and tax policy to find the best way to stem the tide of our unsustainable fiscal policy. The commission would also include the secretary of Treasury, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, and other appointees who are experts in fiscal matters. Modeled after the BRAC process, Congress would be mandated to vote up or down on a legislative proposal. Enabling members of Congress to vote on the heart of this issue is what makes the SAFE Commission unique.
I realize tackling our enormous debt and ramifications of spending beyond our means may not be the most pleasant topic. Realistic ways of steering this country back to sound financial footing may not be easy either. Does that mean we shouldn’t care?
The Heritage Foundation, the Concord Coalition, the Brookings Institution, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, and U.S. Comptroller General David Walker all support the SAFE Commission Act. I am hopeful that by joining efforts across the aisle with Jim Cooper and others, our colleagues in the House and Senate will embrace this bipartisan legislation.
| Posted by Congressman Frank Wolf (VA - 10) (10-15-2007, 02:30 PM) filed under HRPC Member |
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