Ahead of March 11th's government funding deadline, Congressman Chris Pappas joined his colleagues in a bipartisan call for House Leadership to get Congress' fiscal house in order while crafting a new spending package for Fiscal Year 2022.
"As we work towards a full economic recovery, there are still several massive challenges to address. Inflation is at a level not seen in decades and the federal debt is nearly the size of the economy... In the decades to follow, our debt trajectory will continue to accelerate with no end in sight," the lawmakers wrote. "It's our job to responsibly fund the government and avoid costly ‘continuing resolutions' and shutdowns. At the same time, we owe it to our children to acknowledge our country's unsustainable fiscal trajectory and work together, across the aisle, to address it over time."
The lawmakers laid out two specific provisions for consideration:
- Provisions to create a debt commission. The group pointed to the Sustainable Budget Act as a workable model. Alternatively, other bipartisan commissions to address fiscal challenges and near-term trust fund insolvency would create forums for bipartisan solutions.
- Provisions to help ensure that we complete responsible budgets that will reduce the long term debt-to-GDP and the threat of default from the debt ceiling while providing opportunities for members to bring forward bipartisan debt reduction proposals. The Responsible Budgeting Act is one example of legislation that would help accomplish these goals.
Dear Speaker Pelosi and Leader McCarthy,
We write as a bipartisan group of Representatives from different corners of the country and with different perspectives. The pandemic levied enormous harm to our nation's public health and economy. In response, we have supported trillions in emergency spending and tax relief to provide the health and economic resources needed to assist our constituents and support our recovery.
As we work towards a full economic recovery, there are still several massive challenges to address. Inflation is at a level not seen in decades and the federal debt is nearly the size of the economy and on pace to grow to greater than 106% of GDP by the end of the decade. In the decades to follow, our debt trajectory will continue to accelerate with no end in sight.
For these reasons, as we approach the March 11 deadline to fund the government, it is crucial to keep our fiscal outlook in mind. Our national debt should be a top priority for both parties and addressed on a bipartisan basis. In just the last five years, legislative and executive actions have added $13 trillion to the projected debt in 2031, not just in response to COVID-19, but because of Congress' perennially broken budget process and fiscal policies. It has been over a decade since Congress enacted any legislation that significantly addressed these longstanding structural problems or improved the nation's fiscal outlook.
While it is important to avoid a shutdown and ensure the government is responsibly funded, we recommend that any appropriations package include provisions that would also make headway on addressing our large and growing national debt.
We ask that you include one or both of the following:
- Provisions to create a debt commission. The Sustainable Budget Act offers a workable model. Alternatively, other bipartisan commissions to address our fiscal challenges and near-term trust fund insolvency would create forums for bipartisan solutions.
- Provisions to help ensure that we complete responsible budgets that will reduce our long term debt-to-GDP and the threat of default from the debt ceiling, while providing opportunities for members to bring forward bipartisan debt reduction proposals. The Responsible Budgeting Act is one example of legislation that would help accomplish these goals.
Sincerely,
Original source can be found here.
