Members of Congress say they want to be in the driver’s seat on correcting America’s rapidly deteriorating fiscal situation. Recent fiscal commission bills, such as the House Fiscal Commission Act [H.R.
Romina Boccia
That’s Not How the BRAC Commission Worked: No Up or Down Vote but Silent Approval
Former Senator Rob Portman (R‑OH).
I’ve excitedly been following former Senator Rob Portman’s advocacy for a congressional fiscal commission to address unsustainable spending that’s driving the US deeper int
Another Fiscal Commission Model? The Greenspan Commission Was a Failure
With a 2023 deficit of $2 trillion and the Treasury needing to roll over about one‐third of publicly held debt at now much higher interest rates within one year, legislators are beginning to more seriously grapple with the fiscal and economic costs of unsustainable government debt. Among the most promising options: empowering a fiscal commission to overcome the political gridlock plaguing Congress.
Not Just Any Fiscal Commission Will Resolve America’s Fiscal Crisis
A fiscal commission can resolve America’s predictable fiscal decline, but only if it has the power to act. The CRFB explains that “[h]istorically, commissions have helped policymakers to extend the life of Social Security, consolidate military bases, identify government waste, develop frameworks for tax reform, improve homeland security after 9/11, and draw attention to our unsustainable fiscal outlook.” Time is running out for Congress to merely draw attention to America’s rapidly deteriorating fiscal state. We need action and soon.
Social Security Benefits Are Growing Too Fast
There’s a way to reduce Social Security’s financial and economic burden and eliminate its unfunded obligations over the long‐term, and it requires no benefit cuts, but merely reductions in the growth of benefits. Now we just need to find the political will.
Kicking the Can on Government Funding with Emergency Aid
Congress should adhere to the spending caps agreed to in the debt limit deal without phony budget gimmicks and without blowing the budget by designating regular funding as if it were for emergencies.
One Year of Sounding the Debt Alarm at Cato
This month marks my one‐year anniversary as Director of Budget and Entitlements Policy at the Cato Institute. When I joined last August, I set out to prevent a fiscal crisis in the United States and restrain the federal budget leviathan. Here’s a recap of major fiscal events that have occurred since and how things are going:
Would Congress Abdicate Its Responsibility by Empowering a BRAC‐like Fiscal Commission?
Following the Fiscal Responsibility Act’s passage, many legislators remain rightfully concerned that the May 2023 debt limit deal doesn’t do nearly enough to rein in out‐of‐control federal deficits and debt. Now Fitch Ratings has given them a wake‐up call by downgrading the U.S. credit rating from AAA (the highest possible rating) to AA+.
Fitch Downgrades U.S. Debt
Fitch Ratings, one of three major credit rating agencies, downgraded the U.S. debt from AAA (the highest possible rating) to AA+ yesterday, explaining:
“The rating downgrade of the United States reflects the expected fiscal deterioration over the next three years, a high and growing general government debt burden, and the erosion of governance…”
Stabilizing Government Debt
A new CBO (Congressional Budget Office) report and a Treasury letter by Secretary Janet Yellen now estimate the debt ceiling may bind as soon as June 1st.