(The Center Square) – A bipartisan coalition of budget and financial experts has come together to sound the alarm on skyrocketing federal debt and call on Congress to do something about it.
The panel sent a letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
“We write to encourage the creation of a bipartisan budget commission to help address the nation’s many fiscal and economic challenges,” the open letter said. “Although the recent Fiscal Responsibility Act has improved the nation’s fiscal outlook, the national debt continues to approach record levels, major trust funds remain at risk of insolvency, and rising interest costs are increasingly crowding out plus other priorities.
The letter comes as Congress faces a Sept. 30 deadline to pass another spending measure or face a federal government shutdown.
Efforts to truly improve our fiscal outlook will require leadership from both political parties and will need to bring all parts of the budget and tax code to the table. Rather than waiting for another looming default or threatened shutdown, a bipartisan commission can help facilitate agreement on thorny budget issues without undermining our country’s economic strength.
The coalition includes notable left, center, and right-leaning groups, including the Brookings Institutions, FreedomWorks, and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
“Members of Congress on both sides have spoken out in favor of a committee-based approach, and we encourage you to consider the ideas they and others have put forward,” the letter said. “We look forward to working with you to create a bipartisan national commission to address some of our nation’s key fiscal, economic, and budgetary challenges.”
Earlier this month, the US Congressional Budget Office released its deficit estimate, which reported that the U.S. deficit reached about $1.5 trillion in the first 11 months of this fiscal year.
This time last year, the deficit was less than a trillion dollars.
As The Center Square previously reported, within a decade, the cost of interest payments on the national debt will exceed the cost of U.S. national defense spending. Additionally, federal spending projections show that interest payments on the national debt will soon become the federal government’s largest expenditure.
Additionally, Medicare, Social Security, and the highway system are expected to face insolvency within a decade.
“Throughout the nation’s history, committees have provided a critical platform for bipartisan solutions by facilitating bipartisan discussions, generating innovative policy ideas, and changing the national debate on important issues,” the statement said. letter.
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