Unsustainable, Crippling Federal Deficit and Debt
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Hawaii for yielding. I really appreciate this opportunity.
Mr. Speaker, I rise alongside a bipartisan group of colleagues to discuss our Nation's greatest threat: the unsustainable deficit and spiraling national debt.
I thank my friend, Congressman Case, for hosting this Special Order this evening and for his continued leadership on the Bipartisan Fiscal Forum.
Today, our gross national debt exceeds $35 trillion. Our budget deficit is expected to reach $1.9 trillion this year. Spending on interest payments just to service our debt will surpass what we spend on Medicare and national defense each, individually. This is the grave reality of our fiscal situation.
As we all know, this is not an easy issue, and it is a problem created by both parties. Durable and lasting solutions will likewise require bipartisan partnership to address these difficult budgetary realities.
I am grateful for groups like the Bipartisan Fiscal Forum, where Members who recognize the catastrophic threat posed by our fiscal state come together to elevate this issue and find commonsense solutions.
As a father of four boys, this issue is deeply personal to me. I want my sons' generation to have the same chance at the American Dream that previous generations have had.
Our national debt matters, and if we don't deal with it, our children and their children will bear the burden of higher inflation and interest costs, slower economic growth, and the national security risks associated with bloated Federal Government.
Utah, my State, is a model for responsible budgeting with a balanced budget every year and a consistent rainy-day fund. This is why, during my first term in Congress, I established a Debt and Deficit Task Force back home in Utah, comprised of leaders from across the State to create a framework of solutions for how elected officials should address our Nation's debt crisis with Utah's fiscally responsible values.
The four main pillars of our framework include growing the economy, saving and strengthening vital programs, focusing America's spending, and fixing Congress' budget process.
I know that several of my colleagues involved in the Bipartisan Fiscal Forum have recognized many of the same structural issues and are working hard to change the tide here in Washington.
As a member of the Budget Committee, I have been proud of the work we have done this Congress to raise the profile of our national debt and deficit crisis.
Earlier this year, the committee passed my Fiscal State of the Nation Act, which would require the nonpartisan Comptroller General to provide an annual update on the Nation's finances to a joint meeting of Congress and help the Nation understand the scope of the problem.
I applaud Chairman Jodey Arrington for leading the charge on a lot of important legislation and conversations that are making the dangers of our Federal debt crisis feel more real to the American people.
The committee also advanced a very important and significant bipartisan Fiscal Commission Act, crucial legislation led by Congressman Huizenga from Michigan and Congressman Peters from California.
The bill would establish a commission tasked with identifying policies to improve the fiscal situation in the medium term and attain a sustainable debt-to-GDP ratio over the longer term. The commission would operate in an open and transparent manner, and importantly, it provides for expedited consideration on the House and Senate floor. That is something we haven't always had in these similar types of approaches, that there would be expedited consideration to force a House and Senate floor vote.
While establishing a fiscal commission is critical in the short term, I know many of my colleagues would agree that we need to reform our budget process to help make sustainable budgeting possible.
To illustrate the scope of the budget process challenges, here are a few figures: Congress has not adopted a budget on time since 2003; Congress has not passed all appropriations on time since 1996; and the only time Congress has passed both the budget resolution and appropriations by the deadline was 1977.
The Budget Committee is working hard on budget process reform, and I know members of the Bipartisan Fiscal Forum have ideas to revamp the process, as well.
A bipartisan bill I introduced with Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez to tackle this problem is the Comprehensive Congressional Budget Act, which would take the next step toward an effective and inclusive congressional budgeting process by including all spending and revenue in the budget process and requiring contributions from committees with direct spending or revenue jurisdiction.
I emphasize ``all spending'' because, as I listed off things where we have fallen short over the last 50 years, it is not even highlighting the most important aspect: We don't vote on more than 75 percent of our budget. All 435 of us and 100 Senators are responsible in our Article I duty for our Federal budget, and we vote on approximately 23 percent of that.
This Comprehensive Congressional Budget Act would force Congress to take into consideration the entirety of the budget, and it would give the committees the right responsibility. We would have to roll up our sleeves and actually have to deal with the entirety of the budget because the fact that we just vote on appropriations bills doesn't solve a single thing.
Next year will be an important year as we deal with major fiscal cliffs. Beyond the annual appropriations process, we will have to deal with the reinstatement of the debt limit in addition to trillions of dollars of tax expirations that will affect every American family.
Groups like the Bipartisan Fiscal Forum are incredibly valuable as we take on the challenges and opportunities ahead of us in 2025.
Mr. Speaker, I look forward to continuing this important work.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source