Peter G. Peterson Foundation Airs First National TV Ad
As Part of $1 Million-Plus Awareness Campaign
CONTACT:
Elizabeth Wilner
212-542-9200, ewilner@pgpf.org
February 20, 2009 - The Peter G. Peterson Foundation is pleased to announce that its first national television ad will run on Sunday, February 22 as part of a $1 million-plus public education campaign aimed at raising awareness of America's fiscal challenges.
The awareness campaign was first announced at a February 9 Capitol Hill press conference by Foundation President and CEO David M. Walker, the former U.S. Comptroller General from 1998-2008, who joined by Sens. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and George Voinovich (R-Ohio) and Reps. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) and Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.).
The TV ad will air during Sunday morning public affairs programming in advance of President Barack Obama's Fiscal Responsibility Summit on Monday, February 23. Additionally, as part of the awareness campaign, the Foundation will continue to advertise in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico, Roll Call, and other publications. Both the print and TV ads can be downloaded at http://www.pgpf.org/newsroom/MainFeature/feb20/. The text of the TV ad is below:
SMALL ICEBERG(S) LOOMS UP, GOES PAST.
VO: Everyone's focused on the obstacles now facing our economy.
MUCH BIGGER ICEBERG LOOMS UP. IT IS HUGE.
But there's a much larger threat: $56 trillion dollars in unfunded retirement and health care obligations, and the over-reliance on foreign lenders, that endanger us all.
SUPER: $56 TRILLION
SUPER: $483,000 PER U.S. HOUSEHOLDSTEERING AWAY FROM ICEBERG.
SUPER: BIPARTISAN COMMISSIONAn action-oriented bipartisan commission would begin to steer us in the right direction . . .
FINAL SHOT OF CLEAR SEAS, BLUE SKY AHEAD, ICEBERGS NOW IN BACKGROUND.
America must chart a more responsible fiscal course, to navigate a brighter future for our children and grandchildren.
LOGO: Peter G. Peterson Foundation
www.pgpf.org
Since its launch in July 2008, the Peter G. Peterson Foundation has invested nearly $11 million in grants to raise awareness of, and seek solutions to the fiscal challenges posed by the rising costs of health care and retirement and a near-zero household savings rate. The Foundation also distributes the critically acclaimed feature documentary "I.O.U.S.A.", which tells the story of the rapidly growing national debt and its consequences for the U.S. economy.
About the Peter G. Peterson Foundation:
Founded by the former senior chairman of The Blackstone Group with a commitment of $1 billion, the Foundation is dedicated to increasing public awareness of the nature and urgency of key fiscal challenges threatening America's future, and to accelerating action on them. To address these challenges successfully, it works to bring Americans together to find sensible, long-term solutions that transcend age, party lines and ideological divides in order to achieve real results. For more information, see www.PGPF.org.
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