NEW YORK — Michael A. Peterson, President and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, commented today as the House and Senate reconcile versions of tax legislation and hold a public meeting of the conference committee:

“Both the House and Senate versions of the tax bill would add substantially to our national debt, and conference committee members still have the opportunity to make the bill more fiscally responsible.

“Every independent analysis concludes that the bill will not pay for itself, even when accounting for the effects of economic feedback. In just the next decade, this tax bill could add more than $2 trillion to our national debt, which is already $20 trillion and growing.

“Many members of this conference committee have supported the principle of fiscal responsibility in the past. With $16 trillion of existing tax expenditures and $47 trillion of spending over the next 10 years, there are plenty of options to make this bill more fiscally responsible. We owe it to future generations to do better.”