Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media

Friday, December 18, 2009 at 11:09AM
Talk Radio News Service (Admin) in News/Commentary, Senate Homeland Security Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Senator Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Senator Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, senator gregg

by Julianne LaJeunesse- University of New Mexico

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Thursday to talk about federal spending, saying that creation of a Congressional task force to deal with national debt, is a good idea.

The notion of creating an entity to deal with the United State’s debt problems is one that has been tackled separately by both Senators Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) in collaboration with George Voinovich (D-Ohio), and Senators Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Judd Gregg (R-N.H.).

Thursday, Lieberman and Voinovich dropped their plans for creating a commission through the Securing America’s Future Economy Act, saying that Gregg and Conrad’s bill, the Bipartisan Task Force for Responsible Fiscal Action Act, would be the vehicle used to help Congressmen better understand the U.S.’ tax and entitlement program systems.

Senator Thomas Carper (D-Del.) asked Greenspan about who would best serve on Gregg and Conrad’s proposed fiscal team, and to that Greenspan replied it was not who was on the task force, but what the task force produces.

All of the senators at the committee hearing, in addition to the witnesses, expressed deep concern with the direction of U.S. spending, and each said that unless more preemptive measures are taken in the Congress, the United States will face more serious debt problems in the future.