Letters to the Editor can be sent to pgpost@gmail.com. You can also fax them to 301.627.8147, or mail them to 15207 Marlboro Pike, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772
President Obama Establishes National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility
WASHINGTON – President Obama signed an executive order establishing the bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform and announce that former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles and former Republican Senate Whip Alan Simpson will serve as the Commission’s co-chairs.
President Obama said, “For far too long, Washington has avoided the tough choices necessary to solve our fiscal problems – and they won’t be solved overnight. But under the leadership of Erksine and Alan, I’m confident that the Commission I’m establishing today will build a bipartisan consensus to put America on the path toward fiscal reform and responsibility. I know they’ll take up their work with the sense of integrity and strength of commitment that America’s people deserve and America’s future demands.”
Former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles said, “This is one of the most critically important challenges facing the country today and it has be addressed in a bipartisan manner. This is not a Republican or Democratic problem– this is a challenge for America.”
Former Republican Senate Whip Alan Simpson said, “We find ourselves in a difficult fiscal situation that is unsustainable. Whatever the results of our work, the American people are going to know about a lot more where we are headed with an honest appraisal of our situation and the courage to do something about it. I am pleased to accept this difficult role and eager to work with Erskine and the members of the Commission. ”
The bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform will build bipartisan consensus to put forth solutions to tackle our long-ignored fiscal challenges.
· The Commission will make recommendations that put the budget in primary balance so that we are paying for all operations and programs for the federal government (achieving deficits of about 3 percent of GDP) by 2015 and meaningfully improve the long-term fiscal outlook.
· The Commission will be comprised of 18 total members. 12 members will be appointed by Senate/House leaders (3 each by the Republican and Democratic leaders of both chambers). All must be sitting members of Congress. The additional 6 members will be appointed by the President, with no more than 4 from the same political party.
· Furthermore, 14 out of 18 votes needed to report recommendations, and recommendations must be reported to Congress by December 1, 2010.
Since taking office, President Obama has worked to usher in a new era of responsibility in Washington. He put forward a 2011 Budget that includes more than a $1 trillion of deficit reduction, excluding war savings, and signed into law statutory PAYGO legislation so that Congress would have to pay for what it proposes. He ordered his administration to go line by line through the budget looking for programs that do not work or are outdated or duplicative. And the President is taking on the biggest challenge to our fiscal future -- rising health care costs -- by fighting to pass meaningful health reform legislation, and demanding that it doesn’t add a dime to our deficit.
President Obama named the following individuals as Co-Chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform:
Erskine Bowles is currently President of the University of North Carolina. He served as White House Chief of Staff under President Clinton from 1996 to 1998. In that capacity, Bowles brokered the last significant bipartisan budget agreement, the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, with the Republican leadership in Congress—helping to generate the first balanced budget in nearly 30 years. He had previously served as Deputy White House Chief of Staff from 1994 to 1995 and as head of the Small Business Administration from 1993 to 1994. Bowles has also had a long career in business, helping to found the investment firm Carousel Capital in Charlotte, North Carolina, and he was the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in North Carolina in both 2002 and 2004.
Alan Simpson served as a U.S. Senator from Wyoming from 1979 to 1997. From 1985 to 1995, he was the Republican whip in the Senate, and he also chaired the Senate Finance Committee’s Subcommittee on Social Security. During his career in the Senate, Simpson was a consistent voice for fiscal balance—for example, voting in favor the bipartisan 1990 deficit-reduction agreement. From 1997 to 2000, Simpson taught at the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Simpson left Harvard in 2000 to return home to Cody, Wyoming, where he now practices law with his two sons. Simpson serves on the Commission for Continuity in Government, as well as Co-Chair of Americans for Campaign Reform with several former Senate colleagues. He served as a member of the Iraq Study group.
TOP OF PAGE
Beating the Odds in Tough Times
In these challenging economic times, when so many are struggling to keep their heads above water, life is toughest for children in broken families at the low end of the income scale. Yet despite struggling to live under the worst conditions, there are extraordinary young people who draw upon their inner strength to overcome the most daunting barriers. The five high school seniors selected for the Children’s Defense Fund’s 2009 Beat the Odds® November celebration in Washington, D.C. have faced overwhelming obstacles in their lives—poverty, violence, family breakup and abuse, homelessness, substance abuse—but they have not only endured, they’ve thrived.
The Beat the Odds program was initiated by the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) in 1990 to celebrate the positive potential of young people. We work with local education advocates to select students who demonstrate the strength of character and determination to beat the odds while achieving academic excellence and providing service to their families and communities. Each student is given a college scholarship and other prizes in recognition of his or her accomplishments and they are invited to CDF-Haley Farm and put on a youth leadership training ladder.
One of our honorees this year is Rebecca who has had to care for her parents since she was only nine years old after her father was severely injured in a tractor trailer accident, and later, when her mother suffered a massive stroke making it difficult for her to talk or maintain her balance. Among their many household chores, Rebecca and her younger sister spend a lot of time each day helping their parents perform the simplest tasks like putting on their shoes and combing their hair. That hasn’t stopped Rebecca from enrolling in several Advanced Placement (AP) courses requiring her to manage a heavy load of homework each night and leaving her no free time to herself. But along with school work, she has also learned patience—and with that patience she is pursuing a dream of becoming a doctor.
Nathan had a difficult beginning. He was born to a 14-year-old mother who used drugs and subsequently had three more children by three different fathers. His father was in prison. At an early age, Nathan became the one responsible for taking care of the children while his mother worked afternoon and evening jobs. Along with juggling numerous responsibilities at home, Nathan worked hard at school. But after years of watching his mother act irresponsibly, he became a rebellious and reckless teenager himself. Concerned about Nathan’s behavior and threats of suicide, his pastor intervened and began working with the family. In September 2007, his mother was killed in retaliation for helping a friend escape the control of a Latino gang, and his abusive father then tried to come back into his life. Pastor Frank again was there for Nathan and helped arrange a safe place for him to live. Currently, Nathan is excelling academically and also running a business with Pastor Frank producing T-shirts with encouraging messages to teens. This is good preparation for Nathan’s plans to obtain a business management degree.
Crystal was very young when her father left her teenage mother to support three children on her own. Crystal had to wear the same clothes to school most of the time. Without the luxury of having books and other school supplies at home, she quickly fell behind her peers academically. She had few friends and was often teased by her third grade classmates because she couldn’t read well. When Crystal was seven her mother remarried, but her stepfather was both physically and sexually abusive. She was hit regularly with shoes, belts and glass bottles, and her stepfather made her and her brother go to school with long-sleeved shirts and pants to hide any marks or bruises. He threatened to kill her mother and siblings if she told anyone about his sexual abuse of her and her sister. The abuse finally ended when she was twelve and her mother divorced him. But Crystal was angry at everyone in her life and she acted out in school. Her English teacher, Mr. Dick, worked with her and refused to send her to the office. He wouldn’t give up on her. Because of Mr. Dick, Crystal learned how to trust people and her grades improved dramatically. Since then, she has had at least one teacher every year that truly cared about her. Thanks to these dedicated teachers and Crystal’s inner strength, she says she now has excellent grades and—even more importantly—a better life.
Over the last two decades, the Children’s Defense Fund’s national and state offices have celebrated the achievements of hundreds of young people, who, in their daily lives, have beaten the odds and overcome what to many would be insurmountable obstacles. Thirty-eight incredible young people have been held up in 2009 as positive role models to other youths in our communities, especially in these hard times, to show that nothing is impossible for those who have the will to improve their lives. It’s also important to emphasize that behind each successful child is at least one caring adult who took the time to believe in that child and guide him or her along the way. Make a commitment to be that adult in 2010 for at least one child.
TOP OF PAGE
Senator Kennedy's Voice is Missed
"To all those who are idle in our cities and industries of America, let us provide new hope for the dignity of useful work."
-- Senator Ted Kennedy
Six months ago, on August 26th, the legendary Lion of the Senate, Edward M. Kenney, lost his courageous battle with a brain tumor. Monday, February 22nd would have been his 78th birthday. Today, as we pause to remember Teddy once more, I am especially struck by the void his passing has left in a Congress that too often fails to act on behalf of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in our society. Teddy's big dreams: health care for all, full employment, a hand up for the poor and people with disabilities, are still being debated, but like a sports team that has lost its franchise player, there is a big hole in our game.
If Teddy were here, he would not accept the loss of one player, no matter how pivotal, as an excuse for failure. He would tell us that creating a better, stronger America is a team sport requiring all of us to step up to the plate. He would tell the Senators returning from their President's Day recess that it's time to put partisanship aside. We must pass a jobs bill worthy of the millions of men and women in this country who are struggling to make ends meet and provide for their children in the midst of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
He would say to those of us fighting for real, comprehensive health reform, the same thing he said in his 1980 Democratic National Convention speech: "We must not surrender…Let us resolve that the state of a family's health shall never depend on the size of a family's wealth."
Teddy's final gift to us, his memoir, "True Compass," is a compelling read. It describes in honest detail the life of a remarkable public servant whose own personal challenges and setbacks only seemed to strengthen his resolve to make life better for others. In talking about his diagnosis and demise, Teddy's main concerns were for his wife and family, and the unfinished work that meant so much to him.
Before going into surgery, he called a few of his most trusted Senate colleagues, to ask them to shepherd important pieces of legislation just in case he didn't make it through. He survived the surgery, and was even able to speak at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, where he gave a brief, but passionate speech in support of Barack Obama and the cause of his life -- "affordable health care as a fundamental right." I leave you with these words:
“There is a new wave of change all around us, and if we set our compass true, we will reach our destination - not merely victory for our party, but renewal for our nation…And so, with Barack Obama -- for you and for me, for our country and for our cause - the work begins anew, the hope rises again, and the dream lives on.”
Teddy Kennedy's voice and leadership are sorely missed. May we all draw strength from his powerful legacy as we continue his fight for jobs, health care and opportunity for all.
TOP OF PAGE |
