Unanimous Consent Requests--The Calendar

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, we are quickly approaching the end of 2025, and this past year, particularly here in Congress, we have been met with a lot of challenges, chaos, as well as change. But there is one issue that unfortunately has not changed, and that is our ballooning national debt.

Throughout the year, I have repeatedly come to the Senate floor to pound the drum on this very serious issue. I have outlined the history of how we got to this point, and I have urged all of my colleagues, both Democrats and Republicans, to join me in taking action to address our runaway debt before it is too late.

So as we end the year, I am back on the floor today to remind my colleagues of the dire financial situation we currently face and to focus specifically on the harmful consequences that it has on the everyday lives of hard-working Americans.

Let's first take a quick bird's eye view of the situation. At the start of 2025, our national debt sat at a staggering $36.2 trillion. Today, thanks in part to the irresponsible ``Big Ugly Bill'' that Republicans and President Trump passed this summer, that number has now ballooned by $2 trillion. Just 1 year later, our debt now sits at $38.4 trillion.

To put that number into perspective, when I was sworn into Congress back in January of 2009, the national debt stood at $10.6 trillion, so that means that in 16 years, our national debt has nearly quadrupled. Unfortunately, it is only getting worse.

I think I speak for most Americans when I say it is hard to even fathom that amount of money. And Americans might wonder what our debt actually means for them and for their personal finances. Well, the reality is that it isn't some abstract, made-up number; the national debt is a real-life burden that our country has to contend with. Ultimately, the brunt of that burden falls hardest on the people who are just fighting to make ends meet in this increasingly unaffordable economy.

So let's break it down. On one front, it is simply an issue of having fewer resources available to invest in American families. Because our debt has gotten so out of control, each year, Congress is having to use more and more of everyday tax dollars to pay down just the interest on that debt. We are not even paying off the debt itself; we are just paying down the interest. In fact, the interest alone that we pay annually on our debt now exceeds the amount we spend on every single Federal program except Social Security.

That means fewer of your tax dollars are being sent back to your community to invest in stronger roads, safer neighborhoods, and better schools. It means that less resources are available for programs that help Americans put food on the table, afford childcare, or gain new skills through workforce training initiatives.

Particularly as American families continue to face an affordability crisis--the prices just keep going up--this support is needed now more than ever. Failing to invest in those who need it most because our debt is bogging us down will only add fuel to that fire.

On another front, Americans have continued to experience high inflation this year that can be tied to this growing national debt. When inflation goes up, the Federal Reserve has to raise interest rates to combat those higher prices. As interest rates rise, so do Americans' largest expenses, from their car payments, to their home mortgage, to their student loans.

Essentially, the longer we go without addressing this national debt, the purchasing power of Americans' hard-earned money will shrink each and every day, and families will continue struggling to afford the cost of everyday life because, unlike the Federal Government, Americans actually have to live within their means and adhere to their household budget. But unfortunately, today, too many American households find themselves trapped in a cycle of debt and financial insecurity just to meet their bottom line. More and more we see this is the case, even when both parents are working and doing everything they can to give their children a better future.

This is an entirely different reality than what Donald Trump and his billionaire supporters live in. Instead of paying their fair share like most Americans, Republicans just wrote for President Trump and the richest Americans a more favorable Tax Code, making sure that they get to hold on to their wealth and watch it grow. And when the richest Americans still don't succeed, they are given the leeway to bail themselves out.

We don't have to look any further than our President, whose companies have filed for bankruptcy at least four times. Four times, filed for bankruptcy--the President of the United States. Yet he contributes less to servicing our national debt than teachers and firefighters and hard- working Americans who play by the rules each and every day. The average American isn't afforded that luxury.

As a result, our Federal deficit has grown, inflation remains high, and the American people are left with nothing but rising prices, stagnant wages, and bitter, bitter feelings about being left behind.

For too long, we have propped up the wealthy and forced middle-class Americans to pay the bill. It is unacceptable, and if we have any hope of getting our fiscal house in order, this needs to change.

Congress is about to wrap up for the year, but when we reconvene, our debt will still be there--the largest it has ever been. We just can't make this debt go away. Lawmakers are going to have to put policies and politics aside and come together to figure out a way to address this issue.

So, in 2026, I am going to keep sounding the alarm on our national debt, highlighting the everyday consequences, and delving into the ways in which we can finally take steps to put our country on more sound financial footing.

We all say that we care about addressing our growing debt--everybody here in this Chamber says it--but in 2026, let's actually put our money where our mouth is, and let's make it happen.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source