Swerving to Avoid the "Fiscal Cliff": The Debt Ceiling, Sequestration and Tax Policy in America

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At the 11th hour, Vice President Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell brokered a deal that averted the so-called "fiscal cliff," forestalling massive government cuts that could have plunged the country back into a recession.  At the CNP Edmund S. Muskie Awards Banquet, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta described the sequestration budget cuts associated with the fiscal cliff as a gun held to the head of Congress. But the fiscal cliff deal only delayed sequestration and a decision on the federal debt ceiling.  Our two expert speakers - no strangers to the federal budget and fiscal policy - provide some much-needed insight on what the deal really meant and how the White House and Congress can chart the dangerous waters ahead.

Featuring:

Joel Friedman
Vice President for Federal Fiscal Policy, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Neil H. Buchanan
Professor of Law, George Washington University

Moderator: David Geanacopoulos
Center for National Policy

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