Coalition for Fiscal and National Security Releases New Statement Highlighting Fundamental Link Between Fiscal and National Security

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Sarah Higgins, Press Secretary
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NEW YORK — A bipartisan group of highly distinguished and respected leaders in defense, economic and national security policy have united once again to emphasize the fundamental link between America’s long-term fiscal health and our national security. The Coalition for Fiscal and National Security, chaired by Admiral Mike Mullen, is releasing its second statement to draw our country’s attention to the fact that America’s global leadership requires a foundation of economic growth and fiscal sustainability, and to the urgent need to update and re-prioritize our defense and foreign policy strategies to reflect a changing security environment.

Tomorrow, Coalition Chairman Admiral Mullen and members Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Senator Sam Nunn will discuss the new statement as part of a panel discussion taking place at The Peter G. Peterson Foundation’s 2016 Fiscal Summit: “Leadership for a Secure Future” in Washington DC, moderated by David Sanger, National Security Correspondent at The New York Times. The event is open to credentialed media (RSVP information below).

The Coalition statement, titled “Strength at Home and Abroad: Ensuring America’s Fiscal and National Security,” urges policymakers to stabilize our national debt and renew and rebalance our national security strategies.

Members of The Coalition for Fiscal and National Security include:

• Mike Mullen (Chairman)
• Madeleine Albright
• James Baker
• Zbigniew Brzezinski
• Michael Chertoff
• Bob Gates
• Stephen Hadley
• Chuck Hagel
• Lee Hamilton
• Michael Hayden
• Henry Kissinger
• Janet Napolitano
• Sam Nunn
• Leon Panetta
• Hank Paulson
• Paul O’Neill
• Tom Ridge
• George Shultz
• Brent Scowcroft
• Paul Volcker
• John Warner
• Bob Zoellick

"America’s global leadership and national security are dependent upon a foundation of economic growth and fiscal sustainability," said Coalition Chairman Admiral Mullen, Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "This high-level, bipartisan coalition is a testament to the imperative that exists for our leaders to update and reprioritize our defense and foreign policy strategies, while stabilizing our long-term debt and ensuring our continued strength at home and abroad."

"America’s national and fiscal security are closely linked," said Pete Peterson, Chairman of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. "Our unsustainable long-term debt threatens our future economy as well as our national security posture. Getting our fiscal house in order will lead to greater economic growth, with more resources to invest in our future here at home and to ensure a sustained leadership role in the world."

The Coalition for Fiscal and National Security is a group of former senior and cabinet-level officials from the highest levels of the defense, economic, and foreign policy arenas, who have served during eight Presidential administrations (both Democratic and Republican), and as bipartisan leaders in Congress. Convened by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, the Coalition highlights the need to address America’s long-term fiscal challenges and put long-term debt on a downward path as a share of the economy, recognizing the vital link between fiscal sustainability, economic growth, and national security.

To read the today’s Coalition statement, click here.
To read the original 2012 statement, click here.

Information for the 2016 Fiscal Summit: Leadership for a Secure Future

For more information about the Fiscal Summit and registration information, please email fiscalsummitrsvp@pgpf.org.

To request press credentials to attend the Fiscal Summit, please email Joanna Hill at JoannaHill@rational360.com. Space is limited.

More information about the Summit is available at: www.fiscalsummit.org.

About the Coalition for Fiscal and National Security
The Coalition for Fiscal and National Security is a group of former senior and cabinet-level officials from the highest levels of the defense, economic, and foreign policy arenas, who have served during eight Presidential administrations (both Democratic and Republican) and as bipartisan leaders in Congress. Convened by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, the Coalition highlights the need to address America’s long-term fiscal challenges and put long-term debt on a downward path as a share of the economy, recognizing the vital link between fiscal sustainability, economic growth, and national security.

About the Peter G. Peterson Foundation
The Peter G. Peterson Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that 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, we work to bring Americans together to find and implement sensible, long-term solutions that transcend age, party lines and ideological divides in order to achieve real results. To learn more, please visit www.pgpf.org.