Florida congressman said D.C. must address rising debt

After the release of a report by the U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that concluded the federal government’s spending and debt are out of control, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL), a member of the House Budget Committee, voiced his concerns on the issue at a hearing last week.

Buchanan called the current administration’s dependence on spending and borrowing from other nations “unsustainable and immoral” and said the U.S. can no longer afford to ignore the problem.

“We’re going broke. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when, unless we change what we’re doing,” Buchanan said. “We need a standard, and I think that standard is a Constitutional Balanced Budget Amendment.”

The nonpartisan CBO released its Long-Term Budget Outlook last week, warning of a “Greek-style economic crisis” if the out-of-control spending problems are not addressed. “Rising debt could not be sustained indefinitely; the government’s creditors would eventually begin to doubt its ability to cut spending or raise revenues by enough to pay its debt obligations, forcing the government to pay much higher interest rates to borrow money,” the report said.

The CBO also predicts that the national debt will rise to 175 percent of the nation’s GDP by 2040. At the current pace, spending on entitlements is expected to rise by 26 percent over the next 25 years, preventing much-needed investments in defense, medical research and infrastructure. The report also estimates that the Social Security trust fund will be depleted by 2031 – a full year earlier than previously projected.

“Florida balances the (state) budget every year,” Buchanan said. “We make the tough choices… It’s immoral what we’re passing on to our kids and grandkids. I have a granddaughter and a grandson on the way, and I feel horrible about what’s taking place up here.”

In May, Buchanan endorsed the budget passed by both the House and the Senate, cutting spending by nearly $6 trillion, creating 1.2 million new jobs and balancing the budget within nine years.