[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 5] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page 6088] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]ULTIMATE TEST OF A MORAL SOCIETY ______ HON. FRANK R. WOLF of virginia in the house of representatives Tuesday, April 15, 2008 Mr. WOLF. Madam Speaker, according to GAO we are $5.3 trillion deep in publicly held debt, and have an estimated $54.3 trillion in unfunded promised benefits if we don't change our current course. The Social Security and Medicare Trustees reports recently issued only reinforce the dire condition of our fiscal health. This is a fundamental issue for our country's economic future. It's also a generational issue. Pete Peterson's commentary in Newsweek last week ends by quoting Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor who was instrumental in the resistance movement against Nazism. He said, ``The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world it leaves to its children.'' I can't help but wonder what sort of future today's partisan Washington is leaving generations to come. If we can come together-- both sides of the aisle--we can ensure that our children and grandchildren have all the opportunity you and I have had. The bipartisan Cooper-Wolf SAFE Commission could give this country a chance to get back on track--to rein in entitlement spending. If there are other bipartisan ideas on how to address this issue, we should talk about those too. Doing nothing is simply not an option. I urge Congressional leadership and Treasury Secretary Paulson to embrace the Cooper-Wolf legislation. ____________________