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    Committee For a Responsible Federal Budget
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    The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget welcomed the announcement of a third consecutive annual decline in the budget deficit but warned against complacency. While the 2007 deficit of $163 billion was an improvement, long-term challenges from entitlement programs threaten to reverse the trend. The projections of a balanced budget by 2012 rely on unlikely assumptions. Additionally, the projected costs of Social Security and Medicare represent an implicit debt of over $50 trillion that is not accounted for. Congress must address these long-term issues or the deficit will explode and harm the economy.

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    The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget welcomed the announcement of a third consecutive annual decline in the budget deficit but warned against complacency. While the 2007 deficit of $163 billion was an improvement, long-term challenges from entitlement programs threaten to reverse the trend. The projections of a balanced budget by 2012 rely on unlikely assumptions. Additionally, the projected costs of Social Security and Medicare represent an implicit debt of over $50 trillion that is not accounted for. Congress must address these long-term issues or the deficit will explode and harm the economy.

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    6 views1 page

    Release Deficit FY2007

    Uploaded by

    Committee For a Responsible Federal Budget
    The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget welcomed the announcement of a third consecutive annual decline in the budget deficit but warned against complacency. While the 2007 deficit of $163 billion was an improvement, long-term challenges from entitlement programs threaten to reverse the trend. The projections of a balanced budget by 2012 rely on unlikely assumptions. Additionally, the projected costs of Social Security and Medicare represent an implicit debt of over $50 trillion that is not accounted for. Congress must address these long-term issues or the deficit will explode and harm the economy.

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    PRESS RELEASE

    COMMITTEE FOR A RESPONSIBLE FEDERAL BUDGET

    CO-CHAIRMEN
    Bill Frenzel FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jerry Irvine 301-801-3356
    Leon Panetta October 12, 2007 Irvine@newamerica.net
    PRESIDENT CRFB Warns Against Complacency in Light of New Deficit Numbers
    Maya MacGuineas

    DIRECTORS (WASHINGTON, D.C., October 12, 2007) – Today, the Committee for a Responsible
    Barry Anderson Federal Budget welcomed the announcement of a third consecutive annual decline in
    Roy Ash budget deficits, but warned that the nation’s long-term fiscal outlook remains grim.
    Charles Bowsher
    Dan Crippen At a press conference this afternoon, President Bush announced that the deficit for
    Richard Darman 2007 was $163 billion, down from $248 billion in 2006. As a result of economic
    Vic Fazio growth and spending constraints in Congress, the deficit is now just 1.2 percent of
    Willis Gradison
    GDP, the lowest ratio since 2001.
    William Gray, III
    Ted Halstead
    William Hoagland “Any reduction in the deficit is good news,” said Maya MacGuineas, President of the
    Douglas Holtz-Eakin Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, “but population aging and rising
    Jim Jones healthcare costs threaten to reverse these trends. Furthermore, unrealistic assumptions
    Lou Kerr and budgetary shortsightedness hide a harsher fiscal reality.”
    Jim Kolbe
    James Lynn Although the CBO and OMB both predict a balanced budget by 2012, these projections
    James McIntyre, Jr.
    make three increasingly unlikely assumptions: a well-below-average rate of
    David Minge
    Marne Obernauer, Jr. discretionary spending growth, no renewal of any of the Bush tax cuts, and a revenue-
    June O’Neill neutral reform to the Alternative Minimum Tax.
    Rudolph Penner
    Tim Penny Additionally, current deficits do not account for implicit liabilities accruing for the
    Peter Peterson Social Security and Medicare programs. Due to the anticipated growth in these
    Robert Reischauer programs, the GAO projects, the United States’ implicit debt is over $50 trillion, the
    Alice Rivlin size of the entire economy today.
    Jim Slattery
    Charles W. Stenholm
    Eugene Steuerle “If we don’t address these long-term entitlement issues,” MacGuineas explained, “the
    David Stockman deficit will explode and could do real damage to our economy. Congress must not
    Lawrence Summers become complacent as a result of this good news, and must work to address the
    Paul Volcker nation’s coming fiscal crisis.”
    Carol Cox Wait
    Joseph Wright, Jr.

    SENIOR ADVISORS
    The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget is a bipartisan organization committed to educating policy
    Henry Bellmon makers and the public about issues related to fiscal policy. The Committee is located at the New America
    Elmer Staats Foundation. www.crfb.org.
    Robert Strauss --30--

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