MONTGOMERY — The status of the United States as a world leader hinges on its ability to manage its debt in the coming century, U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance told a group of high school students Monday.

   With a federal budget deficit for the last fiscal year of $1.4 trillion, it is an issue of greater importance than health care or even international policy, he said.

   ”I think it’s the crucible of whether or not your generation will continue to live in the greatest country on Earth,” he said.

   Rep. Lance, R-7th, stopped off at Montgomery High School on Monday afternoon to talk about the pressing issues before Congress with a group of about 50 Advanced Placement Economics and American History students.

   During his brief appearance, he discussed topics ranging from health care to foreign policy, but focused on the national debt. He spent much of the time taking questions from the students.

   Earlier in the morning, Rep. Lance toured the Skillman headquarters of ConvaTec, a company that specializes in products and services related to ostomy care and advanced wound care.

   He also dropped off a copy of the nearly 2,000-page health-care reform bill at the Mary Jacobs Memorial Library in Rocky Hill, citing the importance of citizens having the opportunity of reading the document.

   Rep. Lance spent the last few days on the campaign trail, with local candidates Monday and with gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie over the weekend ahead of today’s election. After his appearance at the high school, he boarded a train in Trenton to return to Washington, D.C., to vote on the floor of the House that night.

   He is coming near the end of his first year as a representative, elected last year to his first term in the House. His district that includes parts of Hunterdon, Middlesex, Somerset and Union counties.

   He previously served as a member of the state Senate beginning in 2002, where he represented the 23rd Legislative District. He also served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1991 to 2002.

   A member of the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Lance stressed that in the future Congress has to do a “better job” of managing the nation’s debt.

   In particular, he took issue with Federal Reserve Board’s policy of purchasing long-term treasury bills, expected to end this year.

   ”I certainly do not want to demonetize the federal debt, which would lead to tremendous inflation that would harm your generation,” he said.

   He also discussed the health-care reform bill, which he said could go to a vote by Thursday in the House of Representatives. He explained the process by which the separate health-care bills will be consolidated by the Conference Committee before going to another vote.

   Rep. Lance is part of a group of about 35 centrist Republicans from across the country, known as the Tuesday Lunch Group, who put forward their own proposal for health-care reform.

   Their proposal included the legalization of the sale of health insurance across state lines and allowing children to stay on their parents’ health insurance longer.

   However, he said he would not support the much-debated public option for health care.

   ”I personally think that we should work within the system already in place before going to a public option,” he said.

   He said he favors an open debate of other options, including a single-payer system such as in place in the United Kingdom and Canada. Medicare is also a single-payer system, he pointed out.

   ”I do not characterize disagreeing with me as being un-American or any of that nonsense,” he said. “It should certainly be a matter of debate because similar societies to ours do have a single-payer system.”

   He urged the students to participate in public service to insure that the United States will continue to be the best place on earth to live.”

ksnodgrass

@centraljersey.com 