David M. Walker
March 12, 2010

Speech Topic:  “I.O.U.S.A.:  America on the Brink of Financial Crisis.”

As president and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, Dave is now free to do what he wasn’t able to do while running the Government Accountability Office:  advocate for specific solutions, work proactively with grantees and other partners to build strong coalitions and encourage and engage in grassroots efforts to bring pressure on Washington to act.

As Comptroller General of the United States and head of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) from 1998 to 2008, spanning both Democratic and Republican administrations, Walker served as the federal government’s chief auditor.  Appointed by President Bill Clinton and confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate, he was an outspoken, nonpartisan advocate for addressing the major fiscal and other sustainability challenges facing the country.  He also enacted transformational reforms at the agency and within the accountability profession.

Prior to his appointment to run the GAO, Walker served as a partner and global managing director of Arthur Andersen LLP and in several government leadership positions, including as a public trustee for Social Security and Medicare from 1990 to 1995 and as assistant secretary of Labor for Pension and Welfare Benefit Programs during the Reagan administration.

Although no longer the U.S. government’s chief auditor, Walker continues to serve as a global accountability expert as chairman of the United Nations Independent Audit Advisory Committee.  He also serves on the boards of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and the Partnership for Public Service.  He has authored two books and has a third book scheduled for release in March 2010 tentatively titled Comeback America:  Turning the Country Around and Restoring Fiscal Responsibility.  Walker is a regular commentator and is the subject of the critically acclaimed documentary I.O.U.S.A., which premiered in theaters around the country in August 2008.

Walker holds a B.S. in accounting from Jacksonville University, a senior management in Government Certificate in public policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and several honorary doctorate degrees.  He has won numerous leadership and other awards during his career.  He and his wife, Mary, live in Alexandria, Virginia and have two children and three grandchildren.