National Press Club to Host "NEWSMAKER" House Democratic And Republican Budget Leaders Van Hollen, Price To Discuss Sequestration, Fiscal Cliff, Budget

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Feb 08, 2013, 11:01 ET

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- House Budget Committee Ranking Member Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Budget Committee Vice Chairman Tom Price (R-Ga.) will discuss the latest on sequestration, the "fiscal cliff" and the budget at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 12, at a National Press Club Newsmaker. The event will be in the Fourth Estate Room, 13^th floor, National Press Building, 14^th and F streets Northwest, and is open to credentialed media and club members.

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The two will discuss the latest budget deadlines and approaches that could avoid the next potential fiscal crisis. Sequestration -- automatic cuts in domestic and defense programs mandated by Congress if no deal is struck -- could occur March 1, and the fiscal cliff -- when the government runs out of money -- could occur in three months unless the U.S. Treasury Department takes extraordinary measures. The two will discuss how Congress and the White House can avoid such recurring crises by additional program cuts while not removing benefits from people who need them. They are also expected to address the relative potential roles and timing of additional revenues and tax reform versus program cuts, including public concerns about Social Security and Medicare.

Both will discuss President Barack Obama's request to Congress to reach an agreement that at least delays the sequester and his announcement that his previous proposals are "still on the table." The Senate budget bill in process is another issue at hand.

Price, an orthopedic surgeon, was elected to represent Georgia's 6^th District in 2004. In the last Congress, he chaired the Republican Policy Committee. He was appointed vice chairman of the House Budget Committee in the current Congress by committee Chairman Paul Ryan.

Van Hollen was elected to Congress in 2002 to represent Maryland's 8^th District, which contains most of Montgomery County and some of the Prince George's County suburbs of Washington, D.C., and also shortly became a leader of his party. A prior chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, he became the ranking member and Democratic leader of the Budget Committee in 2011.

SOURCE National Press Club