WASHINGTON — (June 3, 2026) — Concord Action today hosted its first-ever National Volunteer Debt Summit in Washington, D.C., bringing together dozens of grassroots fiscal watchdogs for meetings with key members of Congress and budget experts.
The event kicked off with a robust bipartisan discussion with three members of Congress — U.S. Reps. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), Scott Peters (D-Calif.), and Lloyd Smucker (R-Penn.) Concord Action’s Executive Director Dr. Carolyn Bourdeaux moderated the discussion.
Concord’s citizen leaders also heard from Jessica Riedl, Budget and Tax Fellow at the Brookings Institution and a prolific researcher on the debt and deficit.
After the morning sessions, Concord’s volunteers spread out across Capitol Hill to meet with their elected officials and their staff members.
“I want to thank all of our volunteers who made the trip to Washington to make their voices heard on the need to address our deficit and debt issues, and I want to thank the elected officials and staffers who took the time to listen,” said Concord Action Executive Director and former member of Congress, Dr. Carolyn Bourdeaux. “As we approach $40 trillion in national debt, and with the debt already larger than our nation’s entire economy, Washington needs to wake up to the economic crisis we’re facing. Concord Action and our national grassroots army will do everything we can to wake them up before it’s too late.”
This week’s National Volunteer Debt Summit will help Concord Action build toward its first National Citizens Debt Summit in Washington in March 2027, where the group plans to have hundreds of Americans sound the alarm on fiscal issues. Registration for that event is open here <link>
Founded in 2025, Concord Action is a growing grassroots movement of Americans who care deeply about the nation’s economy and fiscal outlook. Concord Action works to advance its policy agenda with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, generating over 400,000 letters and emails to Congress in just over a year.
Concord’s policy agenda supports legislation that would:
- Cut the deficit in half by 2030;
- Establish a bipartisan fiscal commission with real authority that would provide Congress with a roadmap back to fiscal discipline;
- Prevent lawmakers from collecting their taxpayer-funded salaries if they don’t finalize budgets and spending bills on time.
Continue Reading
