Rep. Jared Golden (D) of Maine’s 2nd Congressional District has joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers in an effort to increase transparency surrounding the national debt.
The Debt-to-GDP Transparency and Stabilization Act – co-led by Rep. Golden and Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) – would require the President’s annual budget, as well as congressional budget resolutions, to include the ratio of the public debt to the estimated gross domestic product (GDP).
According to data from the Treasury Department, the national debt currently stands at nearly $39 trillion.
Projections from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) indicate that the debt is on track to reach 175 percent of the GDP by 2056.
Golden explained in a press release shared Thursday that interest payments on the debt are the “fastest-growing line item in the federal budget,” already accounting for a larger share than nearly all “social safety net spending” combined.
“It’s essential that the national debt is front of mind for lawmakers when making decisions about the federal budget,” Golden said. “Equipping Congress with more information about bills’ impact on the debt will enable more informed lawmaking, and I’m encouraged by the strong bipartisan support for this easy solution.”
This bill has been endorsed by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) and Concord Action, two organizations focused on addressing the nation’s debt.
“The public deserves to know the size and scope of planned debt and deficits,” said Maya MacGuineas, president of CRFB.
“Requiring congressional and presidential budgets to include debt and deficit figures relative to the size of the economy, as in this bill, would help the public and lawmakers understand the fiscal goals in such budgets,” MacGuineas said.
“The Debt-to-GDP Transparency and Stabilization Act is a common-sense step to ensure that both Congress and the President clearly present our nation’s debt as a share of the overall economy, one of the most widely used indicators of fiscal health,” said Dr. Carolyn Bourdeaux, executive director at Concord Action.
This measure was also introduced during the previous legislative session, at which point the House Budget Committee approved it by voice vote, but the bill ultimately did not advance beyond that point.
