Truth and Transparency: The Federal Government's Financial Condition and Fiscal Outlook

摘要

I wear many professional hats as Comptroller General of the United States, including head of the General Accounting Office [GAO], lead partner on the audit of the U.S. government's consolidated financial statements and de facto chief accountability officer of the federal government―and I am a grandfather. Each of these roles provides me with a different perspective on the financial and fiscal challenges facing our nation, but they all lead me to the same conclusion: We must come to grips with the daunting fiscal realities that threaten our nation's, children's and grandchildren's future. My remarks are intended to be a professional and non-partisan overview based on the GAO's work and my tenure as comptroller general and are not intended to be a political opinion. I do not criticize the actions of any particular person, proposal or political party on either end of Pennsylvania Avenue. Rather, my remarks are meant to be a wake-up call and an attempt to simply state the facts and speak the truth to the American people, key policy makers and the press in a manner consistent with the GAO's core values of accountability, integrity and reliability. I hope my remarks will serve to stimulate a broader discussion and much-needed debate about where we are as a nation and what we need to do to address our large and growing fiscal challenge. It's also important to note I'm not the only person―and the GAO is not the only institution―concerned about our fiscal challenge. Ultimately, it will take the combined efforts of many parties to successfully address the issues that I will raise.