Congressman Smith Capitol Report
Dems In Debt
September 24th, 2021
When I decided to seek the job of Republican Leader of the Budget Committee, I did so because our country desperately needs to get its fiscal house in order. Spending and deficits have exploded under both parties, yet every time there is a fiscal crisis, Washington politicians fail to do anything that will prevent these crises from reoccurring in the future. Now, our country is spending so much more than we take in that we have reached our legal limit on debt, known as the debt ceiling, and are projected to go into default sometime in mid- to late October.
The debate over the debt ceiling is usually our country’s most glaring example of the failure to control spending. Congress is required to set the overall level of debt that our country is allowed to issue, and when we continue increasing spending and racking up more debt, Congress is required to either get our budget balanced, so we don’t take on any new debt or raise the debt ceiling.
The best way I can explain this process is it’s very similar to what happens when you have a credit card. A person can spend up to their credit limit, and then if they keep spending, they need to either get a credit increase or they go into default. The only difference is when our country hits its credit limit, we have programs that are on autopilot that keep spending money – so the country must decide which payments it wants to prioritize.
In August of 2019, when Democrats gained control of the House, politicians from both parties voted to raise the debt ceiling and allow new debt to be issued until July 31, 2021. While I opposed this increase and much of the spending that followed, there is no question that both Democrats AND Republicans supported spending above the previous debt limit.
But when Democrats took control of the White House, the Senate, and the House, they began to accelerate our nation’s spending. First, it was the Biden Bailout Bill, which was sold as a COVID package but only directed 9 percent of its funds towards crushing the virus. Now, it’s Bernie Sanders’ Budget and Biden’s Tax-and-Spending Binge that the Democrats want to pass. But it’s so much spending that once again our country is at a crossroads.
And make no mistake: this is entirely a problem caused by overspending. While revenue is projected to be at its highest level in American history this year and has increased 36 percent since 2010, our nation spent $6.5 trillion last year and has seen spending increase 47 percent since 2010. And spending is projected to be even higher this year. Democrats love to claim that tax cuts are causing our deficits, but you can’t refute the facts. Spending is to blame.
Back in July, before the debt ceiling was breached, I led House Budget Committee Republicans in offering to work with Democrats to address our nation’s fiscal crisis. We suggested commonsense solutions such as setting caps on spending and enacting new tools for our country to balance budgets. These are the kinds of tools families across Missouri use when their family budget is strained.
Not only did Democrats not respond to our letter, they increased spending even further. What started out as their plan to pass $3.5 trillion in completely new spending has turned into them writing a bill with $4.3 trillion in spending. Now, with our country facing a debt crisis, Democrats are asking Republicans to bail them out. And they aren’t just asking for a little help – House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth said he was requesting an increase to “a gazillion dollars” so that the debt ceiling effectively is turned off permanently.
It’s ridiculous. Republicans will not co-sign a loan request that will allow Democrats to pass their reckless agenda that harms working families, fuels the fires of inflation, and rewards their political allies and donors. Democrats have the legislative tools available to pass a debt limit increase without Republican support. If Democrats want to increase spending to such a degree that it harms our nation, then it is their party’s responsibility to do so.
