[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 71 (Thursday, April 27, 2023)] [House] [Pages H2072-H2077] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-27
Chamber: HOUSE
Mr. MIKE GARCIA : with a myriad of crises under the President's current watch, from the border to our national security and, yes, to our economy and national debt, you would think that President Biden would be eager to come to the negotiating table with the House GOP to have the debates about the debt ceiling and have the conversations about viable solutions that actually get our economy back on track and ensure that we don't default on our debt later this year. However, as we are learning, that is not the case. It turns out he doesn't seem to want to come for negotiations and sit down at the table with us with an outlook to get to a solution. How did we get here, Mr. Speaker? Let's take a trip down memory lane. Let me remind you that macroeconomics is like physics with a dollar sign in front of it. For every action, there is a reaction. For every input, there is an output. When you look back, for a number of years up until 2020, you will see that our Nation's annual operating budget was essentially a flat line. It was about $1.3 trillion every year from about 2009 to 2020. In 2021, the number became $1.4 trillion. In 2022, the number was $1.5 trillion. In 2023, this last fiscal year, the number grew to $1.7 trillion. This year, when the President comes to Congress with his budget request, we see that he is asking now for $1.9 trillion. These numbers and figures are depicted in this chart. This line, instead of being flat and linear, has gone upwards and is parabolic. Looking at that from the 2020 budget of $1.3 trillion versus what the President is asking for today, with $1.9 trillion requested, that is a growth of 46 percent in just 4 years. That doesn't include the $6 trillion of liquidity pumped into the market spaces and various Federal agencies and State agencies from the American Rescue Plan, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the bipartisan infrastructure package. There is still $6 trillion of additional liquidity in addition to these annual operating budgets in the market space. Mr. Speaker, this really is an existential conversation that we are having about the economy right now. The President and the far left have been walking us into a turning propeller, and we all know that is a bad thing. In the House, the majority, just yesterday, passed a good compromise bill, a fiscally conservative bill that addresses this concerningly sharp increase in Federal spending while also raising the debt ceiling, a looming situation we all must address soon before it turns into another crisis under Joe Biden's watch. The bill effectively allows us to avoid walking into the turning propeller. It is called the Limit, Save, Grow Act, and it will actually provide $4.8 trillion in total savings and cost avoidance. It will claw back billions of unspent COVID dollars that are still out there. It will repeal the additional funding for 87,000 additional IRS agents. It will unleash American energy production to lower energy costs for American families, making us more energy independent. It will also put a stop to the bad Federal spending habits from the last 3 years that we have seen here. This bill looks to reset our annual operating budget to fiscal year 2022, which is not an extreme position. First of all, FY22 was just 6 months ago, and we were operating under those constraints. As you can see, it is about the midpoint of our funding profile over the last 4 years. This is a compromise bill. It is a great position to be in for fiscal conservatives, and it is something that the President should embrace and come to the table and have negotiations. Oh, by the way, this bill does protect Social Security and Medicare, and it does not harm VA benefits, as some have been pushing a narrative of. This is good for our veterans, good for our economy, and good for the future of Social Security and Medicare, things that I have been very vocal about supporting over the last several years. These false narratives about conservatives threatening Social Security and Medicare and VA benefits are outright lies. We are working to actually protect those programs, not jeopardize them. President Biden has shown little to no interest in coming to the negotiating table to pass a fiscally responsible bill that addresses the debt ceiling. As I said at the beginning, there are many crises that need to be solved at the hand of President Biden. All roads seem to be leading to the White House when we look at our blizzard of crises that we are experiencing right now. We can add the debt ceiling that is imminently looming in front of us to this blizzard of crises.  As the House Republicans bring forth solutions, the President should work with us and implement these solutions as the President of the United States. At a minimum, he should be willing to come to the negotiating table and in good faith have these conversations, making compromises to get to a solution, just as our Founding Fathers would want him to.  Celebrating A New Space Renaissance