Rep. Nathaniel Moran on the National Debt and Balanced Budget Amendment

The Growing National Debt

• 📌 The national debt has surged to $38 trillion and continues to grow, posing a significant threat to the economic freedom of Americans.
• 💸 This escalating debt weakens the American economy, jeopardizes national security, fuels inflation, and drives up interest rates.
• 📉 The burden of the national debt now exceeds annual expenditures for the defense department, impacting current annual appropriations.

Shared Responsibility for Fiscal Crisis

• ⚖️ The responsibility for the current fiscal crisis cannot be attributed to a single party; both major parties have spent beyond their means.
• 💡 Lasting prosperity requires living within our means, starting with a balanced budget and restored fiscal responsibility.

Principles-Based Balanced Budget Amendment

• 🏛️ Representative Moran has introduced a principles-based balanced budget amendment (H.J. Res. 110) aimed at making Congress fiscally responsible.
• ✅ The amendment proposes that expenditures shall be balanced with receipts, allowing for this balance to occur over more than one year.
• 🕰️ It provides Congress with practical time to achieve an initial balanced budget, acknowledging the depth of the fiscal hole.
• 🚨 The amendment allows for emergency spending with two-thirds approval from both chambers, ensuring flexibility during critical times.
• 📝 The amendment is intentionally concise (two paragraphs) to allow flexibility in how Congress balances the budget, whether structurally or biennially.

The Need for Bold Action

• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 The current fiscal situation squeezes families and businesses through crippling inflation and climbing interest rates.
• 🎯 Restoring fiscal sanity requires bold, principled action, which the proposed balanced budget amendment aims to provide.