"I.O.U.S.A" to Premiere in Theatres Across the Country
August 13 , 2008

"I.O.U.S.A": Highlighting the fiscal crisis facing our country

By: Paul Ryan

On Thursday, August 21, “I.O.U.S.A” will be premiering in theatres across the country. This film, which was funded by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, highlights the fiscal crisis facing our country and seeks to educate Americans about the dangers posed by the continued unwillingness of politicians in Washington to act on, or even discuss, this pressing issue.

I.O.U.S.A. follows one of the leading voices on this issue, former GAO Comptroller General David Walker, as he travels across the country explaining the dire financial condition of the U.S. government. The film provides an easily digestible helping of what is normally considered inside the Beltway budget arcana. The film looks at four deficits: the budget deficit, the trade deficit, the savings deficit, and finally, the deficit in leadership that fails to address these growing problems. It features candid interviews with Warren Buffett, Alan Greenspan, Pete Peterson, Judd Gregg, and Bob Bixby of the Concord Coalition, among others.

While this group may not have quite the same popular appeal as Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie, and the movie’s catchphrases are unlikely to find a place in the pop culture lexicon, I’m hopeful that the film can start another trend – making it fashionable to talk about and propose solutions to the entitlement crisis. Perhaps the most effective way to get Members of Congress to tackle a problem is to have them hear about it from their constituents. I hope this film will motivate people to demand action from their elected officials on the entitlement crisis. I commend David Walker, Pete Peterson, Bob Bixby, and every one else that was involved with this film for their continued efforts to raise the profile of this issue.

The film is rated PG, an appropriate rating when one considers the alarming portrayal it provides of the future for our children and grandchildren if we fail to address this crisis.

For more information on the film, including show times and locations, please visit

Working to Start a Bipartisan Dialogue
July 8 , 2008

The entitlement crisis facing our future is not a Democratic problem or a Republican problem: It is a problem facing all Americans.

By: Paul Ryan

The entitlement crisis facing our future is not a Democratic problem or a Republican problem. It is a problem facing all Americans, and as a result, it requires bipartisan dialogue to advance a solution.

In recognition of this, I have participated in numerous events over the past few weeks with Members of Congress and think tanks that hold diverse political views. For example, on June 18, I participated in an entitlement event held by the Brookings Institution with my Democratic colleague, Representative Jim Cooper from Tennessee. The event gave us a chance to talk on a bipartisan basis about the fiscal crisis facing America and the need for Members of both parties to address it. To view my opening statement from the event, please click here:

Just last week, on June 30, I participated in the Fiscal Wake-up Tour in Milwaukee, WI. The Fiscal Wake-up Tour is a series of nationwide town hall-style forums that attempts to bring attention to the entitlement crisis. It is hosted by the Concord Coalition, the Heritage Foundation, and the Brookings Institution, think tanks representing a diversity of viewpoints. Like the Brookings event, the Fiscal Wake-up Tour also provided Democrats and Republicans an opportunity to come together to discuss the problem and call Congress to action. For a write up on the event that was printed in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, please click here:

This week I am continuing my efforts to advance a bipartisan discussion on legislation to address the entitlement crisis. On Wednesday, July 9, I will be hosting a health care debate between John Goodman of the National Center for Policy Analysis and Len Nichols of the New America Foundation. Once again, the goal of the debate is to start the dialogue in Washington, DC, and around the country about the importance of acting now to address the entitlement crisis. This debate will emphasize the largest cause of increased spending, health care, and will look at constructive ways to improve cost, quality and access to health care in a way that allows everyone to receive the care that they need without bankrupting the nation. For more details on the event, please click here:

Letter from Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke:
June 30 , 2008

Comments on "A Roadmap for America's Future"

By: Paul Ryan

Since introducing A Roadmap for America’s Future, I have been seeking feedback from leading policymakers and economic experts in Washington, DC, and around the country. Just last week, I received comments on my plan from the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke (see letter below). Chairman Bernanke’s letter acknowledges the daunting challenges facing the nation and states that “[The Roadmap] addresses some of the most important long-term fiscal and economic challenges faced by our nation.”

Further, Chairman Bernanke’s letter also indicates that two of the most important issues that we must address in the U.S. are the “developments in our health care system and the aging of the population.” I agree with Chairman Bernanke. We must tackle these difficult issues before they tackle us and put our country on a sustainable path toward economic growth and higher standards of living for future generations.

For a copy of the entire letter, please click here

House Committee on the Budget Hearing
June 24 , 2008

The SAFE Commission Act and the Long-Term Fiscal Challenge

By: Paul Ryan

Today, the House Budget Committee held a hearing on legislation to address the looming entitlement crisis through the creation of a bipartisan Entitlement Commission. During the hearing we heard from five distinguished witnesses who all encouraged Congress to act now without delay to address the problem. Here are some excerpts from their testimony:

“[G]overnment obligations are reaching unthinkable, and worse, unmanageable levels. Every American—even the youngest among us—is now burdened, most of them unknowingly, with more than $175,000 in federal liabilities and unfunded government promises. Taxes would have to more than double to pay for them. And that is unthinkable not only economically, but morally. Slipping this huge hidden check of debts and taxes to our children should, indeed, be declared immoral.” - Hon. Peter G. Peterson, Chairman, Peter G. Peterson Foundation

“[A]bsent meaningful entitlement, spending and tax reforms, the United States will face debt burdens in the future that would make third-world nations look thrifty. We are currently in a $53 trillion fiscal hole. This hole gets deeper by $2-$3 trillion a year on autopilot… [W]e need to start figuring how we are going to start climbing out of that hole... It is critical that we not continue to kick the can of tough choices down the road.” - Hon. David M. Walker, President and CEO, Peter G. Peterson Foundation

“Our projections of the long-term budget outlook show a “fiscal gap”… Specifically, under our projections, the publicly held debt, which today stands at a relatively modest 37 percent of GDP… to 231 percent by 2050. The Congressional Budget Office, in a recent letter to Mr. Ryan, estimates that in about 40 years, the per-person growth of the economy would halt and then begin to reverse. Such a situation would be untenable.” - Robert Greenstein, Executive Director, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

“The Congressional Budget Office has issued projections of long-term spending and revenues twice in recent years, under the directorship of Douglas Holtz-Eakin, who was selected by a Republican Congress, and under the directorship of Peter Orszag, who was selected by a Democratic Congress. Their projections differ in detail, but both foresee the emergence of excessive budget deficits in future decades.” - Henry J. Aaron, Bruce and Virginia MacLaury Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution

“Entitlement spending on Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security is a tsunami heading toward our budgetary and economic shores. Experts across the ideological spectrum agree that entitlements threaten the nation’s priorities.” - Alison Acosta Fraser, Director, Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies, The Heritage Foundation

I hope that Congress will finally take these warnings seriously, step up to the plate, and work on a bipartisan basis to address the challenge posed by the entitlement crisis.

For a copy of my testimony from today’s hearing, please click on the following link:

Introducing a 'Roadmap for America's Future'
May 21, 2008

CBO’s Analysis of the “Roadmap for America’s Future”

By: Paul Ryan

Today, I released a detailed plan and legislation to fix the Nation’s long-term budget and economic problems. I call this plan the “Roadmap for America’s Future.”

The legacy of America has always been one of a rising standard of living, where parents strive to leave their children better off than they were, with greater prosperity and more opportunity. Like any parent, I hope to provide this same legacy for my three children -- to leave them with an America that is even better off than the great country where I grew up.

Unfortunately, I am concerned that standards of living in this country could suffer tremendously if we fail to face up to the problem of rapidly growing entitlement spending and allow budget deficits to grow out of control. I fear that this trend could swamp economic growth and leave my children with far fewer opportunities to get ahead in the world.

To get a sense of how big a problem this really might be, I recently asked the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the non-partisan agency that provides budget and economic analyses for Congress, to analyze the impact on the American way of life if Congress fails to tackle the entitlement crisis and lets budget deficits grow out of control. As I feared, CBO offered a sobering reply. According to their analysis, this scenario would cause our nation’s standard of living, measured in terms of Gross National Product (GNP) per capita, to begin plummeting midway through this century, just as my children will be reaching their prime years in the workforce.

Of course, one way to cover the growth in entitlements would be to simply raise taxes as high as needed to cover the increased spending. I was curious about the impact this policy might have on the economy, and I asked CBO to model it as well. Unfortunately, CBO drew a similar conclusion --raising tax rates to pay for the entitlements would cripple the economy and cause standards of living to decline. In fact, CBO stated that “tax rates would have to more than double” to balance the budget. CBO continued to say that “such tax rates would significantly reduce economic activity,” and “[r]evenues would probably fall significantly short of the amount needed to finance the growth of spending; therefore, tax rates at such levels would probably not be economically feasible.” Under this scenario, GNP per capita would fall significantly as well. In short, we cannot tax our way out of this problem.

So, finally, I had CBO look at one last alternative – I asked them what would happen if we were able to reform entitlements and keep spending on a path outlined by the Roadmap For America’s Future. The results were quite different. According to CBO, the path envisioned by the Roadmap would result in a considerably stronger economy, with standards of living much higher than today. Under the Roadmap, CBO stated that GNP per person would be a full 85 percent higher than if we did nothing to address the entitlement crisis.

With the Roadmap for America’s Future I have put forward policies to fix our entitlement programs and provide for a bright future for the country. While not everyone who reads about my plan will agree with everything I have proposed, I hope there is at least one thing we can all agree on. We need to begin developing solutions to this problem. If we do not, we will fail to do what previous generations have done for us -- to leave a better America for the next generation. That is the type of America we should all strive for -- an America with greater economic growth, greater opportunities for advancement, and higher standards of living. This is an America we can be proud to pass on to our children.

For the full text of CBO’s analysis, please click on the following link:

CBO Analysis Link