All Around Philly - A More Responsible Budget
Op-Ed
By Rep. Joe Pitts
It has often been said, and rightly, that a budget is a moral document, a statement of priorities. It is a presentation of a vision. When Congress passes a budget resolution, it sets caps and goals for the appropriations process that follows over the next few months. Nonexistent goals are never achieved: having a budget, whether for a household, or for the largest government in history, is an important part of planning and sets important limits.
During my first four years in Congress, I was a member of the Budget Committee. All four years I was on the Committee, we worked with a Democratic president, passed balanced budgets, paid down on the public debt, and we watched the American people grow the economy. I was honored to be put on such an important committee as a freshman congressman, and it was personally rewarding to team up with members of both parties on the first balanced budgets in 30 years.
Contrast that experience with the past six years. Harry Reid, as Senate Majority Leader, refused to even consider, let alone pass, any budget in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014. The House passed budgets in each of those years, and it was House legislation, the No Budget, No Pay Act, that prompted the Senator to finally do what the Senate is required by law to do: pass a budget. A budget is a moral vision, and, apparently, the Senate had no vision at all for several years.
This year, the President has requested that Congress spend $49 trillion over the next decade, of which we would borrow $7.2 trillion. This is in addition to the $18 trillion we have already borrowed. Under the President's proposal, debt held by the public would be $21.1 trillion by 2025, up from an already high $13 trillion today. That same year, we would be paying $808 billion just in minimum interest payments, to keep from defaulting.
I think that $18 trillion is more than enough debt. Democrats and Republicans should, and generally do, agree that we should, balance our budget again. The responsible thing to do is to take action to reduce our borrowing, and then ultimately pay down our debts. It is simply not moral to borrow so much money on behalf of the American people. Unfortunately, President Obama's vision is a vision of red ink: his budget never balances, and continues borrowing at the same rate every year in perpetuity. No reasonable creditor would continue lending to someone who plans on borrowing forever.
There are a lot of ideas out there about what to do about this problem. This year, the House used an innovative legislative procedure to give voice to six different viewpoints. The House voted on six budgets, and the one with the most votes was adopted. This is the first time that this has been done since the 1990s. This inclusive measure allowed for healthy discussion and debate about our future, with members having a variety of options to consider.
The House voted on proposals from members of both parties: three by Democrats, and three by Republicans. Only one passed, a compromise between Budget Chairman Tom Price and certain members who were concerned about our national defense.
This House budget, which I support, would spend about $43 trillion over the next decade, and balance by 2024 without raising taxes on anyone. Government spending would average around 18.3 percent of GDP over the next decade, slightly lower than the post-war average of 20.5 percent. On our current path, we'll be spending 22.1 percent.
Balancing our budget and paying down the debt will mean finding and eliminating waste in government, but also stopping policies that get in the way of the American people, like redundant or excessive regulations, and taxes that hurt efficiency. Each percentage point of economic growth yields about $288 billion in annual tax revenues: getting our economy moving again can make a large impact on our fiscal solvency, lessening our need to make difficult spending cuts. Our budget isn't perfect, but it's a better vision than the current path we are on. That's progress.
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