Comptroller: Nation is in poor fiscal condition

commercialappeal.com - Memphis, TN

By Cathryn Stout
October 27, 2006

The United States is suffering from a "fiscal cancer," said U.S. Comptroller David Walker, who was in Memphis Thursday.

In a keynote address to the Economic Club's monthly dinner meeting Thursday at the Holiday Inn at the University of Memphis, Walker said that the government is not focused on the long-term structural imbalance of the national budget, nor the $46 trillion in unfunded liabilities mainly due to federal programs like Social Security and Medicare.

Appointed by President Bill Clinton and unanimously confirmed in 1998, Walker is the nation's chief accountant, serving a 15-year term -- the longest term of any U.S. government position.

As comptroller, Walker heads the Government Accountability Office, which issues about 1,000 reports a year -- mostly at the request of Congress -- including audits, policy analyses and progr am evaluations.

In an interview before the speech, Walker described some of the issues that are ballooning the national deficit.

"If there is one thing that can bankrupt America, it's health care," he said. "Any serious candidate for the presidency in 2008 will have to be able to tackle this."

He said the long-term effects of an unchecked national deficit will be increased tax burdens and rising interest rates that will put a pinch on wallets and pocketbooks across the board, especially for younger generations.

He advocates budget controls on taxing and spending, evaluating the long-term cost of new programs before implementing them and raising the age of Social Security eligibility.

Walker has made controversial comments in the past, including during a 2005 interview with C-SPAN where he graded the Defense Department a D on economic accountability.

On Thursday, he said he stands by that statement.

"The Defense Department is the only major department in the United States government that is unauditable," he said.

Economic Club president Mary Day called Walker a forthright speaker.

His candor and insight have earned him respect among many of club members, Day said.