Reining in Our National Debt

Floor Speech

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Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss our national debt. In 2022, Speaker McCarthy unveiled the Commitment to America which outlines the Republican platform for governing as we took control of the House in the 118th Congress.

Through our plan, it is critical we support policies that lead to a strong, healthy economy, fight inflation, and lower the cost of living. We must rein in reckless spending here in Washington and root out waste, fraud, and abuse in government.

For the last 2 years, the Biden administration has been left unchecked. Because of their policies, we have seen record-breaking inflation, skyrocketing gas and grocery prices, and increases to daily expenses. Hard-working families are forced to decide between feeding their families or paying the heat and electric bills.

These economic hardships are brought on by unrestricted reckless spending. That irresponsible spending stops now. With $31.4 trillion in national debt, House Republicans are committed to finding a reasonable, practical, and responsible solution to raising the debt ceiling. Just like millions of Americans are forced to make difficult financial decisions to make ends meet, we must finally address out-of-control government spending if we want to put America on a better fiscal path.

Mr. Speaker, I heard from hundreds of my constituents who are concerned about America's checkbook. On December 16, 2021, Congress voted to increase the national borrowing limit to $31.4 trillion, an increase of $2.5 trillion more than the previous allowance. This bill kicked the proverbial can down the road until now when we are, once again, faced with raising the Federal debt ceiling even further.

In recent years, the Federal debt has ballooned because of many of the Biden administration's policies, including the student loan repayment pause and forgiveness, Congressional Democrats' multitrillion-dollar spending spree, and rising interest rates stemming from historic inflation.

The first step toward reducing the debt is controlling the annual deficit. To fully address the drivers of the national debt, Members of both parties and the President will have to come to an agreement in addressing unchecked mandatory spending and reckless discretionary spending priorities.

Mr. Speaker, as part of my commitment to America, I will continue to work to rein in government waste, fraud, and abuse, while limiting skyrocketing government program costs and finding solutions on reducing our national debt.

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