Government

In testimony before the Senate Budget Committee, U.S. Comptroller General David M. Walker said the nation’s long-term fiscal outlook is on an “imprudent and unsustainable path.” According to Walker, who resigned effective March 12, the U.S. faces an increasing need and a shrinking window of opportunity for action.

“Our long-term fiscal challenge is primarily a health care challenge,” he said. “In fact, if there is one thing that could bankrupt America, it’s runaway health care costs. We must not allow that to happen.”

A GAO report titled A Call for Stewardship: Enhancing the Federal Government’s Ability to Address Key Fiscal and Other 21st Century Challenges lays out a possible path for change. It provides 13 potential tools for Congress and the administration to use. The report is available at www.gao.gov/new.items/d0893sp.pdf.

Walker resigned to become president and CEO of the newly established Peter G. Peterson Foundation. The foundation’s stated goal is to enhance the public’s understanding of the most “substantial economic, fiscal and other sustainability challenges” the nation faces.