Texas Border Business
Congress to Receive Annual Briefing on Impacts of Deficit
WASHINGTON— Yesterday, Reps. Henry Cuellar (TX-28) and Derek Kilmer (WA-06) introduced an amendment in the FY19 Military Construction/Veterans Affairs and Legislative Branch Appropriations Committee Markup requiring the Comptroller General to address a joint session of Congress regarding our country’s financial position to promote greater awareness of its long-term implications for our country.
“The U.S. has a national debt of over $21 trillion, or approximately $174,000 per taxpayer. And that’s simply the on-budget debt. When accounting for the off-budget debt – things like unfunded pension obligations and projected spending increases in social safety net programs – the actual debt is much greater,” said Congressman Cuellar.
“In order to make our budget sustainable, we must decrease our deficits by $379.4 billion, every year, for the next 75 years. That’s approximately 10% of the entire federal budget. This is both unacceptable and unsustainable. For the sake of future generations, we must get our fiscal house in order. Our fiscal health is not a partisan issue and cannot be addressed by perpetually kicking the can down the road. This is why Rep. Kilmer and I introduced this important amendment, which is a good first step in taking control.”
“I look forward to continuing to work though committee markups on these important issues and would like to thank Chairman Yoder and Ranking Member Ryan for their work on this bill.”
The amendment was withdrawn.
See video from the markup here.
