Budget, debt

Can congress control its budget and debt mess? Working together maybe.

The national debt is now at $31.5 trillion and counting. Were it to be divided among all income taxpayers, we’d each be on the hook for about a quarter million dollars.

This publisher quaintly remembers being frustrated when the national debt rose from $1 trillion to $3 trillion in the 1980s. We’ve all kind of watched helplessly as it has ballooned over the past four decades.

Texas Senator John Cornyn opined this week that it is startling to see how much debt the U.S. has taken on, and even more jarring to realize there’s no plan to address it.

There is plenty of blame to be shared among both the major parties.

“Making matters worse, we’re quickly approaching an alarming deadline. Unless action is taken soon, the U.S. will default on its debts in the coming months, sending our wobbly economy into a full-blown spiral,” Cornyn wrote.

Cornyn lays out several ways to avoid this disaster, but it will take a bipartisan approach, something that is in as short supply as fiscal restraint in Washington, D.C. His suggestions are: First, Congress gets back to regular funding and abandon the habit of stopgap funding bills and last-minute omnibuses. Regular, on-time appropriations bills are needed, though it would require cooperation that is in short supply.

“The Senate and House Appropriations Committees are charged with writing 12 separate bills to fund different components of the federal government prior to Sept. 30, the end of the government’s fiscal year. That didn’t happen in 2022 or 2021.”

Cornyn states too much of it is done last-minute with stopgap funding measures and lots of add-ons that frustrate all taxpayers (except those whose districts benefit). Too much of the process happens out of the public eye, he argues, a “maddening way to fund the government. Temporary funding legislation and 4,000-page appropriation bills are not the picture of responsible governing.”

Second, Cornyn writes, is reforming spending. Entitlements, he writes, account for nearly two-thirds of the federal budget and are unsustainable. He claims it’s time for “tough conversations,” though it will indeed be tough to touch people’s Social Security which they have paid into for decades.

It never seems to be a tough conversation for some in Congress who cut taxes without additional ways to fund these commitments.

But Cornyn does mention Utah Senator Mitt Romney’s TRUST Act, which creates a way to rescue Highway trusts, Medicare trusts and Social Security.

Lastly, Cornyn states Congress should pass a balanced budget amendment — similar to ones he’s authored and voted for previously — to make clear that the government can’t spend more than it takes in. These are often brought up and quickly forgotten when wish lists begin to roll out.

Cornyn lists a range of other measures Congress can take to address the financial fire that’s raging. Those include:

• Banning earmarks to ensure critical funding bills are not a playground for quid pro quo. We’re fine with that.

• Adopting a “No Budget, No Pay Act,” which would suspend pay for members of the House and Senate if Congress fails to pass a budget or spending bills on time.

• Adopting the “Prevent Government Shutdowns Act,” which would force Congress to stay in session until funding agreements are reached, and ensure the government stays open until that happens.

We agree work is needed to address the growing national debt. But we don’t pin it all on one side. Republicans controlled the House, Senate and White House, and never got close to any of these proposals or budget reductions.

Still, it needs addressing and doing nothing is not an option. It is unfair to continue to burden future generations with our lack of frugality, which stems from a lack of cooperation.

But we’re glad Sen. Cornyn has it on his front-burner. — K.E.C.