Dan Addison, U.Va. Public Affairs
Dan Addison, U.Va. Public Affairs

On Monday, February 11th, as the highlight event of the Up to Us campaign at UVA, U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) spoke about the national debt at Newcomb Hall.  Up to Us is a student-led campaign on ten college campuses across the nation, aiming to increase awareness about the rising federal debt.  Along with Darden’s Initiative for Business in Society (IBiS), the UVA campaign has received backing from other University programs including the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, the School of Law, the Miller Center, the Department of Politics, and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Warner told around 500 audience members that the national debt “is the most important issue we face in our nation” and that “both sides [the Republicans and the Democrats] have got the blame on their hands.”  The federal deficit increases by $3 billion every 24 hours.  However, Warner believes that lawmakers could eliminate $4 trillion off the total debt in the coming decade, as “our economy is poised for a dramatic recovery.”

Watch Senator Warner’s Speech (1:00:39)

Or for further information see coverage on Senator Warner’s website, in The Daily Progress, in The Cavalier Daily, and by UVA Today.