On the last day of the 1990 fiscal year, after months of difficult bipartisan negotiations, the President and leaders of Congress reached an agreement that yielded budget savings and lasting process reforms. What led to agreement then? Why was the initial agreement defeated? What lessons does that experience hold for today?

Watch the event

9:00AM – 9:15AM: Welcome - Rep. Tom Davis
Director of Legislative Affairs & Public Policy, Deloitte & Touche LLP
Professor, George Mason University

9:30AM – 11:00AM: Panel One - Voices from the Room
Who shaped the summit? What were their major contributions? What were the actions and compromises that ultimately led to agreement? Why did the first agreement fail? How should the legislation that finally passed be judged?

Featuring: Tom Foley Former Speaker of the House ∣ John Sununu Former White House Chief of Staff and Governor ∣ Pete Domenici Former Senator from New Mexico ∣ William Frenzel Former Representative from Minnesota ∣ David Obey Former Representative from Wisconsin ∣ Robert Reischauer Former Director of the Congressional Budget Office ∣ Barry Anderson Former Acting Director of the Congressional Budget Office

Moderator: William Hoagland Former Staff Director of the Senate Budget Committee

11:00AM – 12:00PM: Panel Two - Lessons for the Next Summit
What are the parallels and differences between the fiscal challenge of 1990 and that faced today? Can the circumstances of the 1990 summit that yielded a big agreement be reproduced today, or not? Would an agreement of that magnitude suffice to address today’s challenges?

Featuring: Jackie Calmes New York Times National Correspondent ∣ Ron Elving NPR News Senior Washington Editor ∣ Michael Graetz Columbia Law School Professor ∣
Philip Joyce University of Maryland School of Public Policy Professor ∣ Joe Minarik Senior Vice President and Director of Research at the Committee for Economic Development

Moderator: Paul Posner Director of the Public Administration Program at George Mason University

Hosted by George Mason University, the Bipartisan Policy Center and Deloitte

News

The New York Times: Lessons Learned From a Bipartisan Budget Deal in 1990

The Fiscal Times: Treasury Needs a Tax Expert, Not a Wall St. Banker

Government Executive: Alumni of 1990 fiscal talks offer lessons for 'cliff' walkers

FCW: As fiscal cliff nears, is no news good news?

Economic Policy Project