[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 80 (Tuesday, May 12, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Page S2207]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             National Debt

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, last week, I held 12 Q&As in 12 
different counties during our Senate recess. Not in every county, but 
in some counties, a question like this comes up: What are you going to 
do about the national debt?
  I usually say to the person asking the question: You could have asked 
me an easier question.
  So I come to the floor to speak to an announcement that was made last 
week--an announcement that ought to scare all Americans but 
particularly those of us in the Congress of the United States--and it 
was not a surprise announcement. The United States recently eclipsed a 
fiscal milestone. At the end of March, the Nation's publicly held debt 
surpassed the value of all goods and services produced in our economy. 
Another way to say that is that our national debt as a percentage of 
our gross national product was more than 100 percent.
  Outside of a momentary blip during the pandemic, the Nation hasn't 
exceeded this mark since 1946. Passing this threshold should be a wake-
up call to Congress to get the Nation's fiscal house in order. In 1946, 
debt relative to the economy hit its peak and precipitously declined 
thereafter thanks to the end of World War II. Today, it is just the 
opposite. Our debt is expected to grow faster than the economy 
indefinitely, and it ought to be a wake-up call to all of us in the 
Congress of the United States. In fact, interest on the debt alone is 
costing American taxpayers $1 trillion annually, and within 10 years, 
interest costs will top $2 trillion a year.
  The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that does this scoring 
reminds us with every budget update that this fiscal path is 
unsustainable.
  Economist Herb Stein famously quipped:

       If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.

  Our debt cannot grow faster than the economy forever. It eventually 
will stop. The question is, When and how?
  We have this choice as Members of Congress representing the people of 
this country that are very concerned about this situation: We can 
either work together today to gradually turn the corner or wait until 
there is a crisis where draconian austerity measures are forced upon us 
by the national creditors. For the good of the Nation, we must embrace 
the former option.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant executive clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.