Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), a former director of the Office of Management and Budget, and by National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling made the opening remarks at a discussion on reducing the federal debt. Senator Portman was heckled during his remarks about growing the economy and the dangers of going over the “fiscal cliff,” the automatic tax increases and spending cuts scheduled for January 2013 if Congress does not reach a budget agreement before then. Mr. Sperling used words like “disappointing” and “very unfortunate” to describe the latest Republican plan for deficit reduction. 
“Fixing the Debt: Reforming the Tax Code and Federal Health Spending” was a forum held at Grand Hyatt Washington by the Campaign to Fix the Debt, which was co-founded by Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles, the former co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.