NEW YORK — Michael A. Peterson, CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, commented today following Senate passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act. Peterson said:

“It’s a great relief that our nation avoided a catastrophic, self-inflicted default. Now it’s time to focus on the reason why we keep hitting the debt ceiling in the first place: our rapidly rising national debt.

“Unfortunately, this bill does little to address our long-term fiscal challenges — passing the Fiscal Responsibility Act is not enough to act fiscally responsible. While discretionary savings can be helpful, the fundamental drivers of our debt are mandatory spending growth and the lack of sufficient revenues to fund it.

“It’s encouraging that lawmakers have announced that they want to establish a bipartisan fiscal commission. A serious and substantive bipartisan discussion of the key drivers of our debt is exactly what we need to create a sustainable fiscal foundation. We have an opportunity to build on the current momentum to create a more prosperous economic future for the next generation.”

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