Testimony Before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Budget

Brian Riedl testified in a hearing before the United States Senate Committee on the Budget.

Good morning, Chairman Whitehouse, Ranking Member Grassley, and Members of the Committee. Thank you for inviting me to participate in today’s hearing in a committee where I have many fond memories of staffing so many hearings back when I was the chief economist to Senator Rob Portman.

Today, I will make three main points.

First, that the current debt path is unsustainable and requires immediate attention.

Second, that there is a long, bipartisan history of attaching deficit reforms to debt limit bills.

Third, that ultimately the debt limit must be raised on time, no matter what.

On the first point, the federal debt is totally unsustainable. The deficit will likely settle in around $1.5 trillion this year and approach $3 trillion within a decade even assuming peace, prosperity, and low interest rates. That comes to $20 trillion in new borrowing over the decade, even if the 2017 tax cuts expire.

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Brian M. Riedl is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Follow him on Twitter here.