“The Virtuous Obsession”
How Better Budget Law is Key to Meeting Our Fiscal Challenges
November 12, 2014
Hart Office Building Room 902
8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:30 a.m. – 8:45 a.m. Welcome and Introduction
- Amity Shlaes, Chairman, Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation
8:45 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. Session I: How Did We Get Here? The History of the 1921 and 1974 Federal Budget Acts
How did the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 help President Coolidge balance the budget? How has the Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 impacted the way budgets are crafted? Join leading historians who will look back in history to explain the goals and ramifications of America’s budget laws.
Moderator: Bill Beach, Chief Economist, Senate Budget Committee (Minority Staff)
Panelists:
- Hon. William Archer, Congressman, Texas, 1971-2001; Senior Policy Advisor, PwC
- Dan Crippen, Executive Director, National Governors Association; Director, Congressional Budget Office, 1999-2002
- Allen Schick, Distinguished University Professor, University of Maryland
- Amity Shlaes, Chairman, Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation
9:45 a.m. — 10:00 a.m. Break
10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m Session II: What’s Wrong with the Current Federal Budget System?
How does the current federal budget process contribute to large budget deficits year after year? What are the ramifications of the existing budget system for various aspects of the budget, like defense and other discretionary spending? This panel will feature several past budget directors who will explain what’s gone wrong and outline the changes still required to get the federal budget under control.
Moderator: Chris DeMuth, Distinguished Fellow, Hudson Institute; President, American Enterprise Institute, 1986-2008
Panelists:
- June O’Neill, Distinguished Professor of Economics, Baruch College, Zicklin School of Business; Director, Congressional Budget Office, 1995-1999
- Rudolph Penner, Arjay and Frances Miller Chair in Public Policy, Urban Institute; Director, Congressional Budget Office, 1983-1987
- Robert Reischauer, President Emeritus, Urban Institute; Public Trustee, Social Security & Medicare Trust; Director, Congressional Budget Office, 1989-1995
- Bill White, Lazard, Chairman of Houston Banking and Senior Advisor; Mayor, City of Houston, 2004-2009; Deputy U.S. Secretary of Energy, 1993-1995
11:00 a.m. — 12:00 p.m. Session III: Solutions
Americans despair that the federal government may never balance the budget. Yet there’s much reason for hope. This session features leaders from a range of backgrounds who will outline the most promising reforms to fix the federal budget.
Moderator: Maya MacGuineas, President, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget
Panelists:
- Stuart Butler, Senior Fellow, Economic Studies, Brookings Institution
- Gov. James H. Douglas, 80th Governor of Vermont
- G. William Hoagland, Vice President, Bipartisan Policy Center
- Hon. Maurice McTigue, QSO, Vice President, Mercatus Center; Former Cabinet Minister of New Zealand
- Baker Spring, Fellow, Senate Budget Committee
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Lunch and Keynote Address
Introduction:
- David Malpass, President, Encima Global
Keynote:
- Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama
1:30 p.m. to 1:40 p.m. Closing
- Matthew Denhart, Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation