Indiana Representative Joe Donnelly, Blue Dogs Introduce “Forecast for the Future Act of 2010”

Today, members of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, under the leadership of Indiana Representative Joe Donnelly, introduced the "Forecast for the Future Act of 2010," a critical component of the Blue Dog Blueprint for Fiscal Reform that would require Congress and the President to take into account the nation's long term financial obligations as part of the federal budget process. In 2009, the Department of the Treasury estimated projected entitlement spending at approximately $62 trillion over the next 75 years. Unfortunately, the annual federal budgets account for the short-term only and most of the country – including Congress – is unaware of how grave the long-term fiscal picture looks.

"This common-sense reform is one piece of our larger effort to get our fiscal house back in order," said Representative Donnelly. "In order to get a fuller picture of our fiscal future, we need to acknowledge our long-term commitments to entitlement programs. This isn't a radical idea-- the Financial Report of the United States from the Department of the Treasury reports these numbers each year. What's important is that we include these numbers in the annual budget so that we all have a better understanding of how our budgets of today affect our grandchildren tomorrow."

"Our underlying structural deficits are the single biggest threat to our economic security today," said Representative Jim Matheson (D-UT), Blue Dog Co-Chair for Communications. "Congress has a responsibility to address the long term entitlement spending that is built into the system and bankrupting the country. In order to do that, we have to start being honest about the numbers."

Budgets written by the Congress and Administration typically do not account for the structural deficits produced by mandatory entitlement programs. The "Forecast for the Future Act of 2010," a critical component of the Blue Dog Blueprint for Fiscal Reform, would ensure that Congress and the Administration take into account these long term obligations. It would also require the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to report to the President and Congress annually regarding the present value of future costs of entitlement programs.

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