Washington’s worst-kept secret

With a ballooning national debt, out-of-control deficit, and soaring interest payments, there is no denying that our nation’s economic outlook is in bad shape. 

Despite alarming projections and dire warning signs, the federal government continues to steamroll its way to fiscal ruin — rapidly barreling toward an economic cliff that will devastate Americans for generations to come. Given Washington’s reckless spending habits, it’s plausible to assume that our nation’s leaders are blindfolded by blissful ignorance as the U.S. economy heads off the tracks.

But you would be mistaken. It’s not blissful ignorance, it’s willful negligence.

Washington’s worst-kept secret is that our national debt is the $34 trillion problem that nobody cares about.

For years, politicians on the campaign trail have insisted they’re champions of fiscal responsibility. Yet once arriving in Washington, few truly bear the voting record to substantiate their empty claims. Most lawmakers quickly accept that it’s far easier to rub shoulders with leadership and cozy up to K Street lobbyists than to unapologetically reject the Swamp’s status quo spending habits.

This foolish tendency, which runs deep in both chambers and across both parties, becomes most apparent when Congress considers “must-pass” legislation, such as government funding. When push comes to shove, most lawmakers abandon their alleged economic concerns, toe the line, and pat themselves on the back as they dig America deeper into debt.

Decades of these disastrous spending decisions have left us in an abyss of economic despair.

Since last June, the U.S. national debt has swelled by more than $2.4 trillion, setting an alarming pace of racking up roughly $1 trillion in debt every hundred days. Higher interest rates are only making matters worse. Not only are interest payments on the national debt projected to eclipse defense spending in the coming months, but almost $8 trillion of our national debt must be refinanced at higher rates this year. This spike in interest is largely to blame for the soaring deficit, which economists like E.J. Antoni of the Heritage Foundation are now predicting will jump to $3 trillion this fiscal year.

Unsustainable is an understatement. 

The culpability transcends political parties; both sides of the aisle have prioritized pork projects over people, justified unnecessary expansions over commonsense cuts, and welcomed bigger budgets over dismal economic projections. Maintaining these selfish, reckless, and misguided habits will only exacerbate the United States’ economic woes.

But Congress has the power to avoid the impending, tumultuous train wreck.

Governing with a slim majority in a divided government isn’t easy. But House Republicans have the opportunity to fight for transformational change. After all, our constituents are counting on us to handle appropriations in a conservative and fiscally responsible manner, not to serve as a rubber stamp for President Biden and Senate Majority Leader Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) pricey, radical agenda.

This means lower spending levels and real policy wins — a challenging but imperative feat.

Our next best option is passing a year-long continuing resolution, which would trigger a 1 percent across-the-board cut, save Americans nearly $100 billion, and eliminate all the pork-barrel earmarks for the year. There is simply no reason to approve appropriations bills that advance President Biden’s destructive policies and spend more than Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) Fiscal Year 2023 funding levels.

Yet that’s exactly what congressional leaders agreed to behind closed doors, with rank-and-file members and appropriators alike kept in the dark.

I expect many of my colleagues will stick to their old ways when the first batch of spending bills comes before the House in the coming days. But for the sake of future generations, I hope more of my fellow House Republicans will refute Washington’s worst-kept secret. It’s time to unite behind the critical goal of getting our fiscal train back on track. Otherwise, we’ll continue hurtling toward fiscal calamity, and no amount of empty promises or phony anxieties will save us from falling off the cliff of perpetual debt.  

Rep. Andrew Clyde represents Georgia’s 9th District and serves on the House Appropriations Committee.