WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Mike Braun (R-IN), Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Mike Rounds (R-SD) reintroduced the Sustainable Budget Act, tasking a bipartisan commission to create a plan to address our unsustainable national debt and present ways to balance our budget.
“We are on an unsustainable path, plain and simple. Congress has spent trillions of dollars in the last two years with no plan to pay it back, and in the wake of the President’s latest budget request, fiscal responsibility seems low on his list of priorities. People in Wyoming live within their means, and it is time Congress followed suit. Our debt-to-GDP ratio is 97%. It is inexcusable and it is time to fix it.” Said Senator Lummis.
“America is headed for the rocks if we do nothing to right our fiscal ship. Just doing a simple budget like every small business does would make a world of difference for our kids and grandkids. We need action, and since the Budget Committee is now being used for anything but making a budget, I’m glad to join Senator Lummis in introducing this bill to put a commission together to balance our budget,” said Senator Braun.
“For years, we have let our national debt balloon out of control. It’s time to stop this reckless spending and have an honest conversation about the real drivers of the problem,” said Senator Cramer. “Our bill will establish a bipartisan committee to cut through the noise and find lasting solutions to set the U.S. on the path to a fiscally sustainable future.”
“The federal government should live within its means,” said Senator Rounds. “The federal debt and annual deficits have grown immensely, and it is our duty to cut wasteful and unnecessary spending where possible. Over the past two years, the federal government has been set on spending without accountability. Hardworking American taxpayers deserve better. To chart a sustainable path forward for our nation, our bill would create a bipartisan commission to review all government spending, not just defense and non-defense discretionary spending that Congress appropriates each year.”
Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said, “Given the skyrocketing levels of federal debt, lawmakers are rightly concerned with our future budget outlook. The Sustainable Budget Act would create a bipartisan commission dedicated to improving our nation’s fiscal health. We thank Senator Lummis, and the cosponsors, Senators Braun, Cramer, and Rounds, for introducing this legislation and their commitment to addressing our unsustainable fiscal path.”
The Sustainable Budget Act creates an 18-member commission chosen by the President and House and Senate leadership tasked with creating a bipartisan plan to reduce the deficit and balance the budget within 10 years.
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