A Path to Economic Recovery

When the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Kent Conrad, a Democrat from North Dakota and Judd Gregg, the senior Republican from New Hampshire on the Senate Budget Committee write a column together in the Washington Post it gets noticed; and for the reader, it offers a chance to assess the legislative responsibilities and goals they face. The point of the two senators' missive is to announce their agreement that: "When Congress takes up an economic recovery package this month, it should be linked to a bipartisan commitment to begin addressing the long-term budget challenges confronting our nation." Both men realize that the economic recovery package presents both opportunity and a need for diligence: "Washington must act quickly to respond to the economic crisis. More than 2 million jobs have been lost in the past year; businesses are struggling; credit markets have been virtually frozen; home values have plummeted; and retirement savings have been wiped out. Our first priority must be to reverse this decline and restore economic growth. We recognize that enacting an economic recovery package will involve a worsening of our near-term budget picture. In this case, more borrowing by the government is reasonable and understandable, as long as it is for proposals that will truly help spur economic activity. But we also face a long-term budget crisis of unprecedented proportions. The leading edge of the baby-boom generation began retiring in 2008. The combination of this demographic tidal wave and the exploding cost of health care and inadequate government revenue will swamp federal finances." The two leaders recognize that any attempt to provide relief to the economy carries with it a "need to simultaneously signal to the markets that we are serious about restoring fiscal discipline and putting our budget back on a sound long-term path. Linking these short-term and long-term plans is the best way to instill global confidence in the U.S. financial system." Conrad and Judd are in agreement with President-elect Barack Obama's commitment "that "part and parcel" of our economic recovery package should be a "plan for a sustainable fiscal situation long term." That is exactly what we are calling for." And in order to achieve Obama's goals, the senators propose swift action to control "the cost curves of entitlement programs that will otherwise overwhelm our budget, as well as make needed reforms to our out-of-date and inefficient tax code." The greatest threat to success in the senators' opinions would occur with the length of time it takes for the passage of the legislation which would leave fewer palatable choices and determine the extent to which: "the more draconian our choices will become and the more likely they are to be forced upon us." So the two leaders of the Senate Budget Committee seek the formation of a "bipartisan fiscal task force" that "would establish a process to confront the long-term fiscal imbalance. It would consist of a bipartisan panel of lawmakers and administration officials tasked with developing a legislative proposal to steer our budget back on course. Everything, including spending and revenue, would be on the table." The senators seek a form of bipartisanship focused on "assembling the best minds and the best ideas from across the political spectrum. This spirit of bipartisanship is crucial. We cannot afford to return to the acrimony that has stymied past efforts to address our long-term budget issues." The dire consequences of our economic recession have forged an agreement between the two ranking members of the Senate Budget Committee founded upon hopeful but necessary proposals for co-operation. Only their ability to remain true to their plans for bipartisanship and avoid partisan rancor and obfuscation will determine their success as a committee, a Congress and a desperate but hopeful nation that is staring straight into the darkness of an impending economic Depression.