Council Executive Committee Member Picked to Lead Debt Commission

On Thursday, President Obama signed an executive order creating a National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform to address challenges to the government's financial health. Council on Competitiveness executive committee member Erskine Bowles, president of the University of North Carolina, has been selected to co-chair the commission.

In his remarks, Obama described Bowles as someone who, "understands the importance of managing money responsibly in the public sector." Bowles served as President Clinton's chief of staff and, in 1997, helped produce the first balanced budget in three decades. 

“This is one of the most critically important challenges facing the country today and it has to be addressed in a bipartisan manner," said Bowles. "This is not a Republican or Democratic problem– this is a challenge for America.”