Rep. Spartz: Congress must use budget reconciliation to “hold the ground for the future of our children”

Spartz

On Friday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued its budget outlook for the next 10 years (see here) showing a grim picture of the country’s fiscal situation.

The national debt will continue to rise, reaching unprecedented level of 118 percent of GDP in 2035 – higher than the previous record of 106 percent of GDP caused by World War II in 1946. This unsustainable debt level does not even take into consideration the proposed extension of tax cuts, which – despite creating some economic growth – will still significantly increase deficits if not fully offset by spending cuts. It also only assumes very minor inflationary increases to defense and discretionary spending, which has not been and unfortunately does not look to be the reality on the ground.

The CBO outlook also shows that federal healthcare spending is going to almost double in the next 10 years, surpassing all other spending categories, including social security and the total amount of all discretionary spending, including defense spending – reaching almost $3 trillion per year or 7 percent of GDP in 2035. Big healthcare monopolies will win, and the American people will lose.

“It’s becoming criminal for Congress not to address our spending problem,” Spartz said. “If any of my colleagues claim to be patriots, not pawns of the D.C. swamp, they will have to hold the ground for the future of our children. Our Republic will be doomed otherwise.”