Rep. Joe Pitts: Debt is a Very Real Problem

Debt is a Very Real Problem

By Congressman Joe Pitts

Recently, President Obama invited Republican Congressional leaders to the White House to discuss ways to stimulate job growth. Republicans presented a solid plan for economic growth that includes a call for the federal government to stop the cycle of debt and spending that will weigh down future generations. The President's response was a demand that Republicans to name a single economist that agreed with them.

Just a week later, 222 prominent economists from across the country signed onto a document clearly stating that, "The country's economic future depends on Congress' ability to rein in the growth of federal spending." These men and women hail from such prominent institutions as Harvard, University of Chicago and Columbia. Their advice should not be ignored. We need to control our spending and reduce our debt.

The facts are grim, and both Republicans and Democrats have ignored the problem for far too long. The President's long term budget indicates that by 2019 annual interest payments will be $774 billion. This will be more than we currently spend today on education, transportation and national defense combined.

We know how we got here. President Obama, speaking as a Senator in 2006, noted that, "America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership." Both parties have failed to make the tough choices that come with restraint. In both good and bad economic periods, the deficit has been ignored.

This year Congress voted to grow the federal government by over 7 percent. Some specific cabinet agencies have seen their budgets increased by nearly 50 percent in just the past two years. All of this comes during a period when tax revenues decreased dramatically.

To facilitate this growth, the House of Representatives voted to raise the federal debt limit by $300 billion, a move I opposed. That may seem like an incredible figure but the frightening reality is that this increase will only cover borrowing through February. In fact, the U.S. Treasury is over the debt limit right now and is only able to continue government operations through emergency accounting measures.

President Obama is right when he says he does not bear the full blame for deficits. However, this year's budget was not designed by former President George W. Bush, The bills sent to President Obama this year contained thousands of pork barrel projects. He signed these bills despite a campaign pledge not to support bills with earmarks in them.

President Obama is worried that if the spigot of government spending is turned down the economy as a whole may slow. However, in our present circumstances, cautious investors are putting less money into private business and more money into government treasuries. Reducing the money available for private investment holds back job growth.

I don't believe that we can spend our way out of this recession. We can, however, take steps that cost the government nothing. We can open up more foreign markets to U.S. trade, and we can halt job-killing bills and regulations.

Business owners make tough decisions every day about how to use their resources. Unfortunately, few in Congress are willing to make the same tough decisions about how to best use the taxpayers' money.

Speaking on the campaign trail, President Obama promised to go through the federal budget and eliminate waste "line-by-line." While he was successful in eliminating a few high profile defense programs this year, rapid growth in other areas offset any benefit of these meager cuts. Sticking ones finger in the dike doesn’t work when the water is pouring over the top.

I don't think it's too late for President Obama to support good ideas to bring about restraint. Members on both sides of the aisle would like to see a non-partisan commission formed to make recommendations for controlling the deficit. Congress would then have the opportunity to either accept or reject the recommendations without changes.

Early next year, the President will release his second budget, and I believe he has an opportunity to prove that he has thoughtfully considered our national priorities. He has already shown some backbone in fighting against popular weapons projects, but overcoming Congress' urge to spend will require many pitched battles. Restraint may be difficult, but it will help our economic growth in both the short and the long term.

U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts is a Republican who represents Pennsylvania's 16th Congressional District, which includes parts of Berks, Chester and Lancaster counties.