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National experts to discuss solutions to fiscal challenges

CONTACT: Sara Imhof, Concord’s Midwest regional director, 319-471-0236, simhof@concordcoalition.org; Tory Olson, 515-271-1834, tory.olson@drake.edu

Drake University will host a forum featuring national experts who will discuss solutions to the United States’ fiscal challenges on Thursday, Sept. 30.

The Fiscal Solutions Forum will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. The discussion is free and open to the public in Sheslow Auditorium in Old Main, 2570 University Ave.

Panelists will include:

  • Robert Bixby, executive director of The Concord Coalition
  • David Walker, president and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation and former comptroller general of the United States
  • Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of American Action Forum and former director of the Congressional Budget Office
  • Timothy Penny, president and CEO of the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation and former Minnesota congressman

The panelists will speak and then answer questions from the audience on possible solutions to the large federal deficits, funding problems in the entitlement programs and the related risks to the American economy.

Bixby, who has served as The Concord Coalition’s executive director since 1999, has spoken across the country on the difficult fiscal and economic challenges facing the nation.  

“Analysts across the political spectrum realize that our country is on an unsustainable fiscal path,” Bixby said. “Even after the economy strengthens, Washington expects to run up trillions of dollars of additional debt in the coming decade.

“An aging population, spiraling health care costs, unfunded promises in the big federal entitlement programs and political procrastination are threatening our nation’s future,” he added. “It’s high time the country began to address these challenges. The forum will offer a variety of perspectives on how best to do that.”   

The event is co-sponsored by the Iowa Chapter of Financial Executives International, Drake University’s College of Business and Public Administration, the Peter G. Peterson Foundation and The Concord Coalition.

For more information, contact Sara Imhof at simhof@concordcoalition.org or 319-471-0236.