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STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo., Aug. 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Steamboat Institute is pleased to announce an economic and fiscal policy panel at the 2009 Inaugural Freedom Conference at 2:15 p.m. MT on Friday, August 28, 2009. The conference takes place at the Steamboat Grand Hotel in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

The hour-long panel, entitled "Obama Budget Policies: The Road to Serfdom," will feature Dan Mitchell of the Cato Institute; J. French Hill, a former U.S. Treasury and White House official; and Grace-Marie Turner of the Galen Institute.

"We are grateful for the opportunity to hear from these experts on the highly-debated health care plan and economic and tax policies being promoted by the Obama administration," said Jennifer Schubert-Akin, Steamboat Institute chairman.

Mitchell is a senior fellow at The Cato Institute and a nationally recognized expert on tax reform. He previously served as an economist for Senator Bob Packwood on the Senate Finance Committee. He is a frequent television and radio guest and his articles have been published in various major newspapers including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Investor's Business Daily, and Washington Times.

"It is an honor to speak to the Steamboat Institute's guests about the current administration's budget policies," said Mitchell. "It's exciting to see such strong recognition at the grassroots level that high taxes and complex policy are not the answer to successful government."

Hill is the CEO of Delta Trust, a private banking company based in Little Rock, Arkansas. He founded the bank after a six-year career at First Commercial Corp. in Arkansas. During President George H.W. Bush's administration, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury and on the White House staff as Executive Secretary to the Economic Policy Council, for which he was awarded the U.S. Treasury's Distinguished Service Award in 1993. Hill spent time on Capitol Hill as an aide on the U.S. Senate Banking Committee staff for-then U.S. Senator John Tower (R-TX). He was a contributor to the Heritage Foundation's 1984 Mandate for Leadership II. In 2006, President George W. Bush appointed Hill to the U.S. Treasury's Advisory Board for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs).

"Having spent the 16 years since my government service working in the private sector, I can appreciate the impact that federal fiscal policy has on private bankers and investors," said Hill. "I'm looking forward to these topics with those who wish to learn more about the benefits of low taxes and limited government."

Turner formed the Galen Institute in 1995 to promote discussion of free-market approaches to health care reform. She also founded the Health Policy Consensus Group, a forum for U.S. think tank analysts to discuss and develop health policy recommendations. In addition to her many television and radio appearances and her numerous publications in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and other major newspapers, she edits "Empowering Health Care Consumers through Tax Reform" and produces the weekly newsletter, "Health Policy Matters." In 2007, Consumer Health World presented her with the Outstanding Achievement Award for Promotion of Consumer Driven Health Care.

"For over a decade at the Galen Institute, we have worked to get the word out about the benefits of limited government and free-market principles in the health care arena," said Turner. "I'm excited to be a part of the Steamboat Institute's discussion of these topics because I believe, as they do, that individual liberty is the key to a successful, healthy democracy."

For further details and to register for the conference, please visit www.steamboatinstitute.org.