Speeches & Testimony

Mr. Speaker:

I rise to focus attention on one of our most pressing crises: our rapidly deteriorating federal budget, crippled by unsustainable annual deficits and accelerating overall debt. While most prefer to deny or explain it away, we all recognize it, and we all must address it. 

Our federal budget operates on principles no different from those of a business or family budget. Revenues come from taxes and fees, and expenses from government operations. When revenues exceed expenses, the government runs a surplus. When expenses exceed revenues, the government runs a deficit.

The federal budget operates on a fiscal year, meaning surpluses and deficits are calculated annually. When the government runs a deficit in any given year, it must borrow money to cover the shortfall. This is done primarily through issuing government bonds. Additionally, we borrow from intragovernmental sources such as the Social Security Trust Fund, which must eventually be repaid in order to fund Social Security benefits.

We also pay interest on the money we borrow. The total amount borrowed, largely to cover accumulated net deficits over time, constitutes our national debt.

Much like a family or business, it is ideal to avoid deficits and debt. However, some level of debt can be acceptable so long as it is not chronic, not an excuse for irresponsible spending, and remains proportionate to our overall budget and our gross domestic product (GDP).

Sadly, none of these sound budgetary principles has been followed for a full generation now. The last time the United States had a balanced budget was in 2001. Since then, we have run deficits every year, and our total debt and annual interest on that debt have ballooned.

The highest recorded annual deficit was in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching $3.1 trillion. Since then, the deficit has remained high, with the current year’s deficit at approximately $1.9 trillion. If we continue on this path, the annual deficit is projected to reach $2.9 trillion by 2034.

Our national debt has reached unprecedented levels as well. In 2004, the total debt was $7 trillion. By 2014, it had increased to $18 trillion. In 2019, it stood at $23 trillion. Today, our total debt has surpassed $36 trillion.

Our gross debt-to-GDP ratio is now 124%, the highest it has been since the final years of World War II, when it peaked at 126%. If left unaddressed, this ratio is projected to reach 134% of GDP by 2034, with total debt climbing to $57 trillion.

Additionally, we are now spending more on interest payments on our national debt than any other federal program except for Social Security, so including even defense or Medicare. Interest will rise from $881 billion in Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 to $1 trillion by FY 2026.

Failing to address our mounting debt and deficits has severe implications. It crowds out other critical spending in both defense and non-defense areas; reduces fiscal flexibility especially in times of crisis; contributes to inflationary pressures; slows economic growth; increases pressure to raise interest rates; creates national security risks, particularly as adversaries hold significant portions of our debt; discourages responsible budgeting practices on an international scale; and fuels arguments made by our adversaries in particular the People’s Republic of China for replacing the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency.

In a Congress where we often repeat the platitude that our budget reflects our values, it is disturbing that the main common value reflected is fiscal unsustainability ranging to irresponsibility. We need look no further than a mirror for the root cause: our collective inability to face the music of fiscal responsibility and sustainability. It is clear that we need additional help to focus our nation on the specific issues and collective decision-making required to stabilize our budget.

To set us on some path to righting our fiscal ship, I have introduced the Sustainable Budget Act with my colleagues Congressmen Steve Womack, Scott Peters and Zachary Nunn. Our bill will create a National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, similar to other such commissions past, to serve this function.

The commission would consist of eighteen members split between Democrats and Republicans, and would be charged with proposing recommendations designed to achieve a balanced annual federal budget within ten years and meaningfully improve the long-term federal fiscal outlook. This commission would also include recommendations to address the growth in entitlement spending, which we all, regardless of our views on the issue, know is a key fiscal concern on its current track.

The commission’s final recommendations would be due to Congress by no later than one year after the Commissioners are appointed. If the proposal is supported by at least twelve members of the committee, including at least four members of each party, it would receive expedited consideration in the House and Senate, which would have to vote on the proposal.