Roby: CBO Budget Outlook is "Writing on the Wall"

Statement

A new report from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) shows the clear threat mandatory spending poses to other national priorities, particularly military funding, U.S. Representative Martha Roby (R-AL) said today.

The CBO report [link] outlines how, without changes to current law, mandatory spending on Social Security and subsidized health care will grow at an extraordinary rate over the next 25 years, while non-mandatory discretionary spending on military, transportation and education will shrink dramatically. Mandatory spending, as its moniker implies, is automatic in nature and does not require annual authorization like discretionary spending does.

Rep. Roby, who spent much of the August recess informing constituents about the looming threat of mandatory spending, said this latest CBO report is the "writing on the wall" foreshadowing a disastrous outcome if changes aren't made.

"Today's CBO report is the "writing on the wall' for our country," Rep. Roby said. "We talk so much about the growing debt and its massive implications for our country. However, what this report articulates so well is the threat mandatory spending poses to our military and other national funding priorities like education, agriculture and transportation. I hope it helps people understand that the United States as we know it -- the security we enjoy, the infrastructure we depend on, the food stability we need -- will not exist if we continue down our current path. We must get our fiscal house in order, and that will mean some difficult decisions.

"We held dozens of meetings over the last two months, from town hall meetings to visits to civic clubs. Everywhere we went I brought a chart showing the growth of mandatory spending and talked about how it threatens defense funding and other national priorities. I can tell you that folks are paying attention, and they want us to make the right decisions about ensuring our fiscal future. My constituents care deeply for the future of this country, and as their voice in Congress, I'm going to keep sounding the alarm about this looming problem before it's too late."

During her "Martha Listens" town hall tour, Rep. Roby frequently referred to a chart (pasted below & attached) from the House Armed Services Committee showing federal outlays going back to the 1960s divided into the following categories:
- Blue: defense discretionary spending;
- Green: non-defense discretionary spending (transportation, agriculture, government operations);
- Red: mandatory spending (Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, food stamps, etc.);
- Purple: net interest paid toward debt annually.

As the chart shows, mandatory spending has grown dramatically over the years, from just more than 20 percent of the budget in the 1960s to about 45 percent in the 1980s to more than 60 percent today. The increase in mandatory spending as a share of the budget has correlated with a dramatic decrease in defense spending, which Rep. Roby sees as a disturbing trend.

"To put it in perspective," Rep. Roby said, "the United States might spend as much or more on our annual debt interest payments than we do on national defense if we continue down this path. That's a dangerous message to send to the rest of the world.

"If our country doesn't get control of mandatory spending, the funding problems we face now with sequestration will pale in comparison to what we will experience down the road."

Source