Two Republican lawmakers are introducing a bill that would recognize the United States’ soaring national debt as a security threat, according to a new report from Daily Caller.
“Our government’s spending spree is unsustainable and inches us closer to defaulting. America produces significant revenue and yet we continue to find ourselves in a position where we are unable to pay our bills,” Rep. Andy Biggs, who drafted the bill with Sen. Mike Braun, told Daily Caller. “This means future generations will bear these costs and that’s unacceptable. If our government does not become more fiscally responsible, we will no longer be able to adequately fund our military apparatus as well as basic societal services.”
The resolution comes as policymakers are sparring over whether to raise the debt limit ceiling. Biggs called annual raises of the debt ceiling a cop-out and says his resolution will “restore regular order to the appropriations process and acknowledge that Washington has a spending problem.”
Conversations about budget cuts are nearly always wrought with strife as the largest allocations within the federal budget are tied to military spending and the political landmines of Medicare and Social Security.
Fiscal Year 2023 spending is $2.1 trillion with 18.3 percent of the budget going to national defense, 15.9 percent going to Medicare, and 15.6 percent going to to Social Security, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.
The next largest expenditures are health (11.2 percent) and income security (10.5 percent).
“Our staggering national debt is the greatest national security threat to the United States, but no one wants to talk about it. Washington needs political will and a backbone to stop reckless spending and restore regular order to address our fiscal crisis,” Braun told Daily Caller.
The day the resolution was introduced, a separate group of lawmakers unveiled a bill that would force spending cuts that would evenly match any increase of the debt limit.
