[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 6958-6959]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     NATION'S LOOMING FINANCIAL CRISIS NEEDS A BIPARTISAN SOLUTION

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 20, 2007

  Mr. WOLF. Madam Speaker, as a nation we are moving closer and closer 
to the edge of the financial cliff. A few steps forward and we will 
start a free fall into a canyon of debt which will be base for our 
country. Is that what we want for our children and grandchildren?
  Of course not. The baby boomers start retiring at the end of this 
year. That will bring unprecedented levels of entitlement and other 
program spending.
  If left unchanged, in just a few decades there will be little money 
for transportation, education, health care, medical research, cancer 
research, veterans, the environment, and all the programs our 
constituents depend on us to provide. We cannot continue to keep 
borrowing and mortgaging our future to countries like China that carry 
our debt.
  Young people should be clamoring for Congress to act. They have the 
most to lose from inaction. It's their future that is being mortgaged. 
Everyday we don't act, we increase the debt burden they must repay in 
future years.
  I have a bill which offers an opportunity to change the current 
course. Senator Voinovich and I first introduced the SAFE Commission 
last summer. And we reintroduced it in January.
  Our country is in trouble--and we can't afford to wait much longer to 
take action.
  The bipartisan SAFE Commission will put everything on the table--
entitlements, other federal spending, and tax policies--as it comes up 
with recommendations.
  It will hold town hall meetings across the country to explain the 
financial crisis we face and discuss this issue with the American 
people.
  We need to listen to them. I believe that the American people, given 
the hard facts from a bipartisan panel, will understand that solving 
this problem will take sacrifice from everyone.
  The commission's recommendations would then come to Congress and we 
would take an up or down vote on the proposals in their entirety, 
similar to the BRAC process.
  Mandating congressional action on the panel's recommendations is what 
makes this commission unique.
  There also is the opportunity for Congress to put forward an 
alternative proposal to reach the same goal at the same time the SAFE 
Commission recommendations are voted on.
  Holding out some hope that Congress could act on its own, the 
legislation also has a provision that if Congress were to pass a 
measure making substantive changes in entitlement spending and taking 
other action to get our financial house in order before the SAFE 
Commission acts, then the commission would cease to exist.
  But if Congress doesn't act, no later than 17 months from the 
organization of the commission, it would be required to vote--up or 
down--on the SAFE Commission's legislative proposal.
  I have written a number of Dear Colleagues and personally talked with 
a number of my House colleagues about joining this effort--more than 
once.
  While 20 Republicans have signed on, including the Minority Leader 
John Boehner, this effort has fallen on deaf ears on the other side of 
the aisle.
  I have sent a personal letter to each of the Blue Dog Coalition 
members appealing to them to step forward and join me in focusing 
national attention on this critical issue.
  I have also written to the media and public opinion leaders a number 
of times over the last year. While there have been a few columnists who 
have written op-eds, overall I have been disappointed that there hasn't 
been more reporting about the grave consequences of inaction.

[[Page 6959]]

  I certainly understand how this issue is competing with other 
national priorities, including the war in Iraq and the larger war on 
terrorism. But I fear that if we can't get Congress to move this year, 
there will not be another opportunity for a couple years with the 2008 
presidential campaign already heating up.
  As the father of five and grandfather of 12, the fiscal challenges 
facing the nation with the baby boomers' retiring strike me as much 
more than a routine policy discussion.
  Without action, just what kind of future are we leaving to our 
children and grandchildren?
  In a word--bleak.
  We owe a debt to previous generations--our parents and grandparents--
for the sacrifices they made to make our country what it is today.
  Likewise, our generation must find the resolve so that generations to 
come will have a secure economic future.
  America needs our help and I welcome your support.

                          ____________________