WASHINGTON — Peter G. Peterson, who has spent decades focusing public attention on the nation’s unsustainable budget policies and encouraging fiscal reform, will be honored by The Concord Coalition next week with its 2016 Paul E. Tsongas Economic Patriot Award.
WASHINGTON — Peter G. Peterson, who has spent decades focusing public attention on the nation’s unsustainable budget policies and encouraging fiscal reform, will be honored by The Concord Coalition next week with its 2016 Paul E. Tsongas Economic Patriot Award.
“Pete Peterson began sounding the alarm many years ago, warning that demographic trends, rising health care costs, and political procrastination could jeopardize the country’s future,” says Robert L. Bixby, Concord’s executive director. “These factors are now generally recognized as the main drivers of our nation’s unsustainable budget policies.”
“But Pete did more than sound the alarm,” Bixby adds. “He has been a tireless advocate for bipartisan reforms that would put the federal budget on a more responsible course, encourage economic growth, preserve America’s global leadership and protect our children and future generations from excessive government debt.”
Peterson, the founding chairman of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, has built a distinguished career featuring many achievements and contributions in the business world, public service and philanthropy. These include co-founding The Blackstone Group and serving as the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and the chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank in New York.
In 1992 he co-founded the bipartisan Concord Coalition with Paul E. Tsongas, a former Democratic senator from Massachusetts, and Warren B. Rudman, who served as a Republican senator from New Hampshire. Peterson served as The Concord Coalition’s president for many years and continues to support its work.
In 2008, Peterson established the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, where he continues his work on the nation’s fiscal challenges. He has written a series of books on these challenges, including Steering Clear: How to Avoid a Debt Crisis and Secure Our Economic Future, which was released last year.
“No one is more deserving of recognition for advocacy on behalf of fiscal sustainability and generational responsibility than Pete Peterson,” Bixby says. “But we are particularly pleased to honor him with this year’s award because of his early leadership of Concord and his continuing interest in and support for our work.”
The award ceremony will be held next week in New York.
The annual Paul E Tsongas Economic Patriot Award honors those who have demonstrated a commitment to fiscal responsibility and the protection of younger generations from short-sighted budget policies. Over the years the award has been given to individuals of varied backgrounds and political affiliations.
Media Contact: Steve Winn at (703) 254-7828 or [email protected].
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The Concord Coalition is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to fiscal responsibility. Since 1992, Concord has worked to educate the public about the causes and consequences of the federal deficit and debt, and to develop realistic solutions for sustainable budgets. For more fiscal news and analysis, visit concordcoalition.org and follow us on Twitter: @ConcordC
