Deficit projections show need to rein in spending, Daines warns

Following a report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that the federal budget deficit is expected to increase by $105 billion in 2016, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) reaffirmed his commitment on Tuesday to reining in Washington’s out-of-control spending.

The $105 billion increase would mark the first increase to the federal budget deficit in seven years.

“These projections reaffirm the dire consequences of Washington’s continued bloated spending,” Daines said. “Make no mistake – this $105 billion increase in the federal deficit is [a] direct result of the 2000-page trillion dollar spending bill that was cobbled together behind closed doors and forced through Congress last month. It’s past time for Washington to get serious about reining in our national debt. We cannot leverage the future of our country by continuing down this unsustainable path of reckless spending without securing necessary reforms that will balance the budget.”

According to the CBO report, the actual 2015 deficit was $439 billion, with the projected 2016 deficit reaching $544 billion. The report added that the five-year deficit is $3.57 trillion while the 10-year deficit is $9.378 trillion.

Daines has made improving the nation’s fiscal health and ensuring Congressional accountability a priority since he arrived in Washington in 2013. The first bill he introduced in both the House and the Senate was the Balanced Budget Accountability Act, which would require Congress to pass a balanced budget each year by April 15, or each member of Congress would forfeit his or her own pay.