{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://schweikert.house.gov/2023/11/15/schweikert-op-ed-we-must-address-americas-looming-debt-crisis-this-is-step-one/", "Schweikert Op-Ed: We Must Address America\u2019s Looming Debt Crisis. This Is Step One", "2023-11-15", "2023", "2023-11", "Republican", "House", "AZ", "David Schweikert", "S001183", "schweikert.house.gov", "schweikert", "https://schweikert.house.gov/category/congress_press_release/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 Today, U.S. Representative David Schweikert (AZ-01) authored an op-ed for FoxNews.com on the need for Congress to form a bipartisan debt commission to confront the nation\u2019s imminent debt crisis and preserve social safety net programs for America\u2019s seniors. Additionally, Rep. Schweikert emphasized that a revolution in health care innovation will be necessary to improve outcomes for patients and bring down health care costs, which in turn will reduce overall federal spending.\n\nWe must address America\u2019s looming debt crisis. This is step one\n\nBy Congressman David Schweikert\n\nFox News\n\nNovember 15, 2023\n\nConsider this \u2013 over the past year, the national debt increased by $2.5 trillion, which amounts to an eye-popping $78,401 every second. U.S. federal borrowing for Fiscal Year 2023 neared 9% of the entire economy.\n\nThese numbers should terrify every American.\n\nAs vice chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, I feel compelled to address the alarming growth of our national debt. If we fail to confront this issue head-on, future generations will face the crushing prospect of a combined top marginal tax rate of 100% just to pay for existing government services.\n\nWe have an opportunity to come together to save our Republic by forming a bipartisan debt commission focused on finding innovative solutions to address this perilous threat and ensure our children and grandchildren have the same opportunities that we had. I commend Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., for pledging to establish a debt commission in one of his first acts since his election.\n\nOur primary fiscal challenges stem from demographics. The number of workers-to-retirees ratio has fallen from over 5-to-1 to under 3-to-1. At the same time, 1-in-9 prime age men are not showing up in the workforce.\n\nThese trends put an immense strain on Social Security and Medicare, programs that American retirees rightfully rely upon. Simply put, we must fulfill our promises to them. At the same time, it is morally indefensible to ask Americans to incur a massive tax increase to keep these programs afloat.\n\nSo instead of focusing on the question of who should pay, I believe we should focus on why health care costs have grown so rapidly.\n\nConsider obesity, a key driver of health care spending that fuels a multitude of conditions from diabetes to heart disease. The 2023 Joint Economic Report put a price tag of $4.1 trillion on the cost of untreated obesity to taxpayers over the next decade.\n\nThere is hope in the emerging role of medications targeting severe obesity and its complications. By ensuring access to effective treatments, we can tackle the underlying causes of these health issues, easing the financial pressures on federal health care spending.\n\nInvesting in research and development is vital for continued medical breakthroughs that enhance quality of life, reduce costs and improve outcomes.\n\nYet, even with a forward-looking approach to health care, we cannot disregard the imminent fiscal challenges facing Social Security and Medicare. Without legislative intervention, these programs face automatic, draconian cuts that no American wants.\n\nIn just a decade, the Social Security Trust Fund will run out of money. When that happens, federal law mandates an automatic 25% cut in Social Security benefits along with a reduction in Medicare spending.\n\nIt is incumbent upon us, as a nation, to find a bipartisan solution that solidifies their financial stability.\n\nAnother pressing concern is the historically low liquidity in the U.S. Treasury market. As the country prepares to issue $1.8 trillion in new debt in Fiscal Year 2024, we must recognize the risks posed by this illiquidity.\n\nA slight drop in demand for U.S. debt can cause a significant increase in interest rates, as evidenced by the yield on the 10-year Treasury currently standing at 4.6%\u2014nearly a full percentage point higher than the Congressional Budget Office\u2019s projection at the year\u2019s outset.\n\nEscalating interest rates have the potential to set off a perilous cycle of slower economic growth and higher federal budget deficits, which, taken together will exacerbate our debt crisis.\n\nWe must consider innovative approaches to financing our debt while addressing liquidity.\n\nOne approach is for Treasury to issue perpetuities, as suggested by Hoover Institution economist John Cochrane. These instruments would be both highly liquid and lock in the government\u2019s long-term financing costs, providing stability and predictability to the market.\n\nThe Federal Reserve could also improve Treasury market liquidity by adopting a rules-based monetary policy, thereby reducing interest rate volatility.\n\nThe dramatic rise in America\u2019s national debt is a crisis that can no longer be ignored. It is a challenge that threatens our future prosperity, and one that Congress must rise to before it\u2019s too late.\n\nBy forming a bipartisan debt commission, we have a unique opportunity to come together and tackle this issue directly. It doesn\u2019t matter what party one belongs to, we should all want a healthier population, strong and secure social safety net programs, and a strong and flourishing economy.\n\nOur time to act is now.\n\nBack to News", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T01:01:09Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://schweikert.house.gov/2023/11/15/schweikert-op-ed-we-must-address-americas-looming-debt-crisis-this-is-step-one/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9525138884782791, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}