One of the most important functions of our federal government should be to respond fully and swiftly to emergencies. Bipartisan cooperation will be needed in the coming months for hurricane response and rebuilding. However, both parties should also work together to find ways to offset the tremendous costs, and to reintroduce sound fiscal policies with a proven record of deficit reduction. Without this, we risk being ill-prepared for ongoing challenges and future emergencies.

Over the next 10 years, the Concord Coalition estimates deficits totaling $6 trillion. The national debt now stands at $8 trillion. To prevent further erosion of this already dire fiscal outlook, Concord recently recommended specific actions:

This year's transportation bill was larded with 6,272 earmarks totaling roughly $24 billion. This money should be used instead to help pay for rebuilding.

All tax cut proposals should be subjected to the pay-as-you-go principle. This would not prevent targeted tax relief for those affected by the hurricanes.

Concord supports reductions in entitlement spending totaling $34.7 billion over five years, as called for in the Congressional Budget Resolution, even if it means reassessing which programs should be reduced.

Applying the savings from these or other non-emergency areas to the more urgent needs of the Gulf Coast region would not come close to paying for the relief efforts, but it would mitigate damage to the budget and demonstrate that Washington is willing to set aside narrow parochial interests and make hard choices for the common good. Some in Congress have already called for specific cost-savings to offset relief costs, and we applaud their courage. President Bush should support spending caps and put his little used veto pen to work if Congress sends a bill that exceeds logical spending in a time of emergency. The "borrow and spend" approach is unsustainable.

Just as Americans are generously giving support in hurricane relief efforts, individuals can also make a difference in calling for more attention to deficits and debt. On Oct. 17, the Humphrey Institute Policy Forum, the Concord Coalition, and other organizations are cosponsoring "Leadership and the Fiscal Future of The United States," a non-partisan forum. The discussion will focus on the role and responsibility of leaders in making policy decisions that will not burden future generations with excessive debt. The forum, featuring U.S. Comptroller General David Walker and other fiscal policy experts, will be held from 9 a.m. to noon at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, 301 S. 19th Ave., Minneapolis. The event is free and open to the public. RSVPs to Ellen Tveit at 612-625-8330 or etveit@hhh.umn.edu.

Davison, a Minnesota native, is director of legislative affairs for the Concord Coalition, a national nonpartisan organization dedicated to generationally responsible fiscal policy.

Commentary:
There's one serious flaw. The tax cuts are the problem. Without those tax cuts we'd have had enough money to pay for Katrina. But instead of doing what was right, the Bush White House and the GOP borrowed trillions of dollars and gave it away (also called a tax cut). Borrowing money and giving it away is pandering, not governing and since the Concord Coalition can't accept this fact it has become meaningless.

Any solution MUST begin with canceling all new tax cuts, followed by rolling back all tax cuts previously passed. Otherwise, the GOP government spends money we don't have and borrows it from our children. Besides, borrowing money and giving it to the rich is immoral and bad fiscal policy. Tax cuts that create deficits are really unpaid taxes plus interest--like using a credit card, and never paying it off.

To its credit, the Concord Coalition advocates tying ‘future tax cuts' to spending cuts (called Paygo) under Clinton. Had the GOP done what Clinton did, we wouldn't have created $2.2 trillion of new debt in the past 4 ½ years and we'd have plenty of money to pay for Katrina and much more.