Unsustainable, Crippling Federal Deficit and Debt

Floor Speech

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Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for the opportunity to speak on this Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with my colleagues as a very proud member of the Bipartisan Fiscal Forum Steering Committee. Together, we are very much committed to addressing one of the greatest threats to our Nation's long-term stability, and that is that of our unsustainable debt trajectory.

We also understand that we simply can't afford to treat our fiscal future like a political football. I represent Pennsylvania's Sixth Congressional District, a very purple community, where people understand that fiscal responsibility isn't a partisan issue, but it is a community value. We know that our prosperity both at home and across the country depends on smart and responsible fiscal stewardship.

Before coming to Congress, I was a business leader in Pennsylvania, and I have seen firsthand the risks and consequences of debt when it is not carefully managed. Businesses that ignore fiscal discipline may eventually falter. They may lose investors, may lose opportunities, or may even fail.

In the same way, if we continue on our current fiscal path as a nation, we could also find ourselves on similarly dangerous ground.

Over the past few years, this Nation and consequently the Federal Government has faced very costly and unprecedented challenges, from responding to the global pandemic, to defending our allies abroad from brutal, illegal attacks, to historic emergency national disasters. These crises have demanded investments and American leadership to protect our country and to support our global partners.

However, as interest rates now dip and inflation lowers and eases, now is, in fact, the time to refocus our efforts. In the coming months, we must have serious conversations about the future of our long-term fiscal health. As we look toward this future, the long-term implications of our national debt demand our attention and demand action.

Right now, as has been mentioned, the U.S. national debt is over $35 trillion, larger than our entire economy's GDP. On a similar note, according to the Congressional Budget Office, if we fail to change course, interest payments on that debt alone are projected to exceed $1 trillion annually by 2033. That is $1 trillion just to pay the interest, money that could otherwise go toward infrastructure, families, education, and national security.

Speaking of national security, I want to be clear: Our economic security is absolutely directly tied to our ability to defend ourselves and to lead on the global stage. The more that we borrow, the more we depend on foreign creditors, and the less flexibility that we have in making decisions that are in our national interests.

As our interest outlays increase, the less funding we have to spend on things like our military's preparedness. We cannot afford to have our hands tied by debt when it comes to protecting this Nation.

In Congress, we face critical deadlines in the coming months. As we prepare to vote on yet another short-term funding extension this week, we are reminded that a bipartisan full- year compromise for fiscal year 2025 government funding has yet to be reached.

Early next year, we will once again face the debt ceiling. These are not abstract deadlines. These are real and pressing moments where we have the opportunity to get control of our fiscal future together, but that opportunity is slipping away if we continue to delay these difficult decisions and if we continue to politicize this issue.

So that is why the Bipartisan Fiscal Forum exists. We are here. We are here to sound the alarm, and also to propose durable solutions, solutions like a bipartisan fiscal commission, or the Fiscal Responsibility Act that we passed just last year.

Our mission as a group is to raise the profile of this issue with our colleagues and with the public while ensuring that we have healthy, constructive debates on fiscal policies here in Congress.

As a bipartisan group, we know that this is not about scoring political points. This is about securing a sustainable future for our children and for our grandchildren. We may not agree on every solution or on the levers to pull, increasing revenues or decreasing costs, but we cannot afford to continue to keep kicking the can down the road.

I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to please come together, to set aside partisanship, and to work toward a balanced, sustainable budget. We owe that to the American people.

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