[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 57 (Monday, March 31, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E268-E269]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
INTRODUCTION OF THE SUSTAINABLE BUDGET ACT
______
HON. ED CASE
of hawaii
in the house of representatives
Monday, March 31, 2025
Mr. CASE. 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 percent, the highest it has
been since the final years of World War II, when it peaked at 126
percent. If left unaddressed, this ratio is projected to reach 134
percent 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.
[[Page E269]]
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.
A commission process has been utilized in other times of fiscal
uncertainty and has facilitated some tough, but necessary, discussion.
It has been attempted before in the federal fiscal context through
various commissions such as Simpson-Bowles, which came close to
succeeding in restoring some fiscal discipline in Washington. There is
no reason to conclude that it would not work here, and every reason to
conclude that absent such an approach we will be in far worse shape far
faster than followed previous attempts.
We clearly need help with our collective inability to confront this
reality. My Sustainable Budget Act is at least a start toward a
solution.
I urge this bill's prompt consideration and passage.
____________________