Chip Roy’s ‘Know the Debt’ resolution would jam national debt clocks in Congress

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) introduced a resolution Monday in the U.S. House of Representatives to keep lawmakers aware of the soaring federal debt.

Roy’s “Know the Debt” resolution would place debt clocks in the main courtrooms of the House Appropriations Committee and the Budget Committee, “in full view of all members.”

The resolution states that “members of Congress should keep the Gross National Debt in mind when debating legislation that would affect the financial condition of the nation.” He calls the national debt the “greatest national security threat to the United States” and notes that federal spending is causing the nation to rack up “at least $100 million in debt every hour.”

“Our republic has been heading for fiscal self-destruction for decades, and it’s time for Congress to confront its ruinous behavior. Last week, we crossed the $28 trillion threshold in total debt and are currently on track. for spending $6 trillion on pandemic ‘relief’ in less than a year,” Roy told TheBlaze. “For perspective, $6 trillion is more than the United States spent in 4 years fighting World War II and nearly the total national debt when I first came to Congress in as a staff member in 2003.”

He continued, “If my colleagues and the leaders of this Congress want to continue mortgaging the future of our children and our country, having debt clocks in the chambers of the House Budget and Appropriations Committee is a simple way to confront them with the consequences of their recklessness every day.”

Last week, the Congressional Budget Office projected that the national debt will eclipse 200% of gross domestic product over the next 30 years. In other words, by 2051, the debt owed by the United States government, for which taxpayers are responsible, will be more than double the total value of the American economy.

This current year, the federal budget deficit is estimated at 10.3% of GDP, the second largest since 1945, during World War II. By the end of 2021, debt is expected to reach 102% of GDP, and that estimate doesn’t take into account the $1.9 trillion coronavirus spending bill passed by the US Senate over the weekend. nor proposals from congressional Democrats to pass an infrastructure bill. .

Social Security, Medicare and other mandatory spending continue to be major drivers of overall debt. But the CBO expects annual budget deficits to grow as interest rates rise and the debt interest payments Congress must make to avoid defaults increase each year.

As interest payments increase, they take up more of the federal budget, leaving less money for Congress to spend on popular programs or the military. The inevitable fact of continued spending is that Congress will be forced to raise taxes or borrow more money to pay interest on the debt and avoid government default. Tax increases are unpopular, so Congress is more likely to try to borrow more money, which in turn will increase debt and make interest payments even higher.

“High and rising debt as a percentage of GDP raises federal and private borrowing costs, slows economic output growth, and increases foreign interest payments,” the CBO warned. “A growing debt burden could increase the risk of a fiscal crisis and higher inflation, as well as undermine confidence in the US dollar, making it more expensive to finance public and private activity in international markets. .

Republican lawmakers recently revive the arguments against wasteful federal spending to criticize President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 spending bill, but most Republicans remained silent as the the federal debt exploded under President Donald Trump, despite Republicans holding full control of the federal government for the first two years of his presidency.

The national debt is a bipartisan problem that for decades has not found a bipartisan solution, with no relief in sight.

The stream US federal debt is $28 trillion and rising.