America will face persistent, annual deficits of over half a trillion dollars over the next decade. If current policies continue, these deficits will slow economic growth, reduce household incomes, and impose enormous burdens on the next generation. To address the problem, a team of Brookings experts#several of whom have served as White House Office of Management and Budget directors#has been working on possible solutions. On January 13, the group will release a new report on why deficits matter and what might be done about them. The report, which is being released three weeks before the president's budget is due to Congress, provides a clear-eyed assessment of the federal budget outlook for the next ten years and offers three ways to balance the budget. Along with brief presentations by the Brookings authors, an independent, expert panel will address the budget problem and the report's proposals