August 7, 2003

MacGuineas To Lead Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget

Panetta: 'This is a critical time ... requiring critical change.'

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget today announced the appointment of Maya MacGuineas to lead its effort educating citizens, Congress and the federal government on the importance of addressing the fiscal crisis our nation now faces.

"At a time when our Country's leadership has forgotten the fundamental principle of fiscal responsibility, the fight for the future is more important than ever," said CRFB Co-Chairman Leon Panetta. "The deficit is continuing to grow and we have done nothing to address the problems in Social Security and Medicare. This is a critical time for our country - a time requiring critical change, both in the short- and long-term policies we are adopting."

"We are fortunate to have found a person as capable and energetic as Maya," said CRFB Co-Chairman Bill Frenzel. "She has the bipartisan credentials and intellectual capacity to re-energize our efforts to bring common-sense back to Government budgeting."

As Co-Director of the Retirement Security Program at the New America Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, MacGuineas is uniquely qualified to lead the Committee during this important time. MacGuineas is widely published and her resume includes working as a Social Security advisor to the McCain for President campaign, as well as stints with the Brookings Institution, the Wall Street firm PaineWebber and the Concord Coalition. Ms. MacGuineas received her Masters of Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Ms. MacGuineas will take her position as Executive Director of CRFB on November 1, 2003. As of January 1, 2003, the Committee will be housed at the New America Foundation and the two organizations will form a partnership to work on fiscal issues.

Ms. MacGuineas succeeds Carol Cox Wait who will be leaving the Committee after her extremely successful tenure, to return to California to run her family business.

Founded in 1981 to address the need for citizens to be better informed on fiscal and budget issues, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget is a bipartisan organization located in Washington DC.

Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget
220 1/2 "E" Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: 202-547-4484
Fax: 202-547-4476
E-mail: crfb1@aol.com