i'm mac destler, professor of public policy. late last fall i was visiting saul in his new living space on connecticut avenue. he pointed to where i was seated, and he said, steny was sitting right there in that chair, and he told me that if he possibly could, he would do the program. well, steny is a man of his word. steny is here. and saul himself came within a week of being here. as he so badly wanted to be here. his passion and determination were key to making this event happen as they were key to a number of saul stern programs on public policy issues of the day. it reflected his deep civic engagement, and this event is now a tribute to saul stern. i ask that we share a short moment of silence in memy of saul stern's good and rich life. it is now my honor to pass the baton to my colleague and friend in boss, don kettle. [applause] >> thanks so much, mac. i'm don kettle, and i'm dean of the school public policy here at the university of maryland, and i want to welcome all of you to this discussion about something that is as

famous skorgs this fiscal solutions tour, really the collaboration between the saul stern professor, mac destler and the concord coalition. so the coalition attracts remarkably bright scholars and policymakers from diverse fields and i'd like to them thank all of them for co-sponsoring this today. it's identifying the tractable among the many possible solutions to various problems. finally i'd like to mention that the school of public policy has been focusing on these issues of economic policy a very long time with very well-known names in the school. alan chicago, don ketti. ken, who's deeply involved in the issues of social security, and also tracy gordon, who may be here today. explores public finance and management at the state level. of course no one is more engaged in issues of fiscal policy than maryland's own majority leader steny hoyer, who is in his 15th term representing maryland's fifth congressional district. as an alumnus and long-time supporter of the school, the university of maryland in general and higher education in maryland and throughout the nation, we are fortunate to have