Ducking a Debate on the Debt Limit

by Alan Snyder

Centrists.Org recently projected that the national debt owed to the public will double between 2002 and 2010, from $3.5 trillion to an all-time high of $7.2 trillion. By 2010 the debt is projected to be nearing 50 percent of GDP. Instead of responding by re-establishing a modicum of fiscal discipline, House leaders seem determined to sneak an additional increase in the statutory debt limit via the FY05 Defense appropriations bill.

Late Monday night, the Rules Committee reported an open-ended rule that would allow a provision increasing the debt limit. This afternoon, the House voted to allow conferees on the Defense bill to raise the debt limit without a separate vote. In other words, members of Congress wouldn’t be “on the record.” The leadership is using an appropriations bill designed to support our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan as a way to slip in a higher debt limit without public discussion.

While it is true that we will need to extend the debt limit to avoid default, Congress shouldn’t use legislative gimmicks to bypass public discussion of our long-term budget problems.

Before increasing the debt limit, Congress and President Bush should come together to restore discipline and accountability in the budget process. This would include strengthening the spending limits and PAYGO rules in the Budget Enforcement Act to ensure that laws cutting taxes or raising entitlement spending are offset by equivalent tax hikes or spending reductions elsewhere in the budget.

Moderates from both parties should push for a transparent debate on extending the debt limit and an open conversation on fiscal discipline. We need this debate sooner, not later. To do otherwise is to jeopardize the economic security of future generations.

Links:
Associated Press House Opens Door to Increasing Debt Limit (June 22, 2004) [note this link may require registration]

Centrists.Org Where Will the Deficit Go From Here? New Long-Term Budget Projections (June 3, 2004) Under realistic assumptions, the annual federal deficit is poised to hover around $400 billion through 2007, between 3 and 4 percent of GDP. After that, the deficits will grow as the first waves of baby boomers leave the workforce and join the entitlement rolls.

Posted by Jeff Lemieux at June 22, 2004 12:03 PM