Senior Fellow Nan Swift: “CBO’s latest report makes clear that tough choices can no longer be delayed.”
In response to the Congressional Budget Office releasing its report, “The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2024 to 2034” R Street Institute resident senior fellow Nan Swift released the following statement:
“For seasoned federal budget watchers, today’s ten-year budget and economic outlook from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) contains few surprises. Despite dire warnings about our worsening debt, high-interest costs, and an overall unsustainable fiscal future, Congress repeatedly squandered past opportunities to make the small reforms that would chart a more responsible path.
CBO’s latest report makes clear that tough choices can no longer be delayed. If anything, CBO may be understating this crisis. Throughout the past year, monthly revisions depicted a deteriorating fiscal outlook with deficits and spending all accumulating at rates higher than previously estimated. Ongoing adherence to the status quo will only accelerate these overall dismal trends.
Congress has two immediate chances to make better choices. The House and Senate should act to quickly stand up the bipartisan fiscal commission recently passed out of the House Budget Committee. Likewise, as legislators consider potential supplemental spending packages, they should offset this new spending and avoid putting billions more on the federal credit card.”
