Betsy Russell reports: Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo and Congressman Mike Simpson are inviting the public to a discussion of the “fiscal cliff” and financial and debt issues facing the country, on Monday at the Idaho Statehouse. The discussion will feature Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Reponsible Federal Budget. Crapo’s office said the committee is “launching a new effort to go out at the state level to spread the word about the need for a bipartisan solution to these imminent, dire threats to all generations of Americans.” The session will run from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. in room WW55, and is entitled, “A critical discussion on solving the debt crisis facing all Idahoans and Americans.”
For those who can’t attend in person, the session will be live-streamed by Idaho Public Television; you can watch live here. Click below for more info.
YOU ARE INVITED TO:
A CRITICAL DISCUSSION ON SOLVING THE DEBT CRISIS FACING ALL IDAHOANS AND AMERICANS
U.S. Senator Mike Crapo
U.S. Representative Mike Simpson
Maya MacGuineas, President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget
Monday, August 20, 12:15 PM to 1:15 PM
Idaho Statehouse
As a member of the U.S. Senate’s “Gang of Six” and the Bowles-Simpson Commission, Idaho Senator Mike Crapo has been working to expand support for a wide agreement on spending reduction, entitlement reform, tax reform, and budget process reform, with a goal of producing significant economic growth, new job creation and debt reduction. Working side-by-side with counterparts in the U.S. House, including Representative Mike Simpson, the bipartisan, non-profit Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget is launching a new effort to go out at the state level to spread the word about the need for a bipartisan solution to these imminent, dire threats to all generations of Americans.
Maya MacGuineas, the President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, will be in Boise on on August 20th at the invitation of Crapo to join a discussion about the serious financial issues facing our country. She and Crapo will also discuss elements of a bipartisan way forward to solve our debt issues before we go over the “fiscal cliff,” as it is necessary for Congress, President Obama and all Americans to pull together to end this debt crisis.
WHEN: Monday, August 20, 12:15 PM to 1:15 PM
WHERE: Idaho Statehouse, Lower (Garden) Level, West End Senate Committee Room WW-55
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 Committee is made up of some of the nation’s leading budget experts including many of the past Chairmen and Directors of the Budget Committees, the Congressional Budget Office, the Office of Management and Budget, the Government Accountability Office, and the Federal Reserve Board.
Projects
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) runs a number of ongoing projects. Among them include US Budget Watch (www.usbudgetwatch.org), a project funded by Pew Charitable Trusts which has reported on important fiscal issues through and beyond the 2008 Presidential election. Through generous support from the Peter G. Peterson Foundation and Pew Charitable Trusts, CRFB also runs the Peterson-Pew Commission on Budget Reform. Another CRFB project is Stimulus.org (www.stimulus.org), which monitors the extraordinary actions taken by the government during the current economic crisis and puts out regular reports and releases on various budgetary issues. CRFB also runs the Fiscal Roadmap project, created to help policymakers navigate the country’s serious economic and fiscal challenges.
Finally, CRFB’s two most recent projects are the Moment of Truth Project and the “Go Big” initiative. The Moment of Truth Project is a non-profit, non-partisan effort created to use the findings of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform to spark a national discussion on the need to implement a comprehensive budget fix and to help further develop policy reform ideas to improve the nation’s fiscal outlook. Through the Go Big initiative, CRFB is working to urge leaders in Washington to enact a comprehensive deficit-reduction plan of at least $4 trillion to put the U.S. back on a sustainable fiscal path. In order to stabilize and reduce debt as a share of the economy, lawmakers will have to be bold and “go big.”
Maya MacGuineas
Maya MacGuineas is the President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Additionally, she is the Director of the Fiscal Policy Program at the New America Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank. Maya testifies regularly before Congress and has published broadly, including articles in The Atlantic Monthly, The Washington Post, The New York Times, the Financial Times and the Los Angeles Times. Once dubbed “an anti-deficit warrior” by The Wall Street Journal, Maya comments often on broadcast news and is widely cited by the national press. In the spring of 2009 Maya did a stint on The Washington Post editorial board, covering economic and fiscal policy.
Maya has worked at the Brookings Institution and on Wall Street. As a political independent, she has advised numerous candidates for office from both parties, and works regularly with members of Congress on health, economic, tax, and budget policy. She serves on the boards of a number of national, nonpartisan organizations and received her Master in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
