Sanford on President's Budget Proposal

Statement

Today, Representative Mark Sanford (R-SC) released the following statement after the release of the president's fiscal 2018 budget request, A New Foundation for American Greatness:

"I commend the president for looking to balance the budget and put the debt on a sustainable downward path. This is in contrast to the last administration and is to be applauded. Indeed, this proposal would reduce the federal government's footprint by cutting duplicative government programs, reducing improper payments, and focusing funding on the traditional roles of government.

"That's the good news. The bad, is that while on its face, the president's budget request is balanced, the budget only accomplishes this through a combination of very strong economic forecasting and unrealistic future cuts in domestic discretionary spending. Meanwhile, the proposal doesn't touch 40% of the annual budget - Social Security or Medicare, even though both are on a path toward insolvency.

"The proposed three percent economic growth assumes a Goldilocks scenario regarding several major economic indicators, such as a sustained unemployment rate of 4.8% - when the last 10 years have averaged at 7%. It assumes another 10 years of continuous economic expansion, which would be unprecedented because we are already in our country's third-longest period of economic expansion. And it ignores significant demographic and financial headwinds, such as the continuing retirement of the baby boomer generation and slowed private investment due to an increased public sphere in the economy.

"Assuming strong economic growth may telepath an optimistic vision of our future, but by doing so, it ignores the tough policy choices that are necessary to truly address our country's debt. It seems to me that finding a sustainable path forward requires more realistic policy assumptions on growth so that we avoid mounting deficits in the years to come."

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