The Man With a Mission to End Washington's Spending Addiction (The Epoch Times)
Addressing the most significant challenge facing our nation in the 21st century
The Epoch Times published an article about House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-TX) and his leadership on stabilizing the US debt before it triggers a severe fiscal crisis. I recommend the entire article, which also cites my work on establishing a fiscal commission with real teeth. See key excerpts below:
On passing the buck vs seeing eye-to-eye:
Mr. Arrington says the national debt remains the towering obstacle to the nation's future prosperity and even survival. At the heart of the problem is the congressional culture epitomized by the familiar maxim that "when all is said and done in Washington, more is said than done."
The maxim is true regardless of whether Democrats or Republicans are in the majority, and sooner or later, according to the Texan, members of both parties must either set aside their differences in the national interest or at least agree to split the differences in order to make progress.
On the threats from failure to stabilize the US public debt:
"I believe this is the most significant challenge facing our nation in the 21st century, our runaway federal spending and our unsustainable national debt that threatens not only our economy but also our national security, our way of life, our leadership in the world, everything good about America's influence and our children's future," Mr. Arrington said at the hearing.
Mr. [Scott] Peters [D-CA] agreed with Mr. Arrington, saying, "Congress’s failure to manage the national debt is not the sole responsibility of one party or one administration. […] Democrats should be very worried about what the ballooning debt and interest payments will mean for current and future investments in our kids."
On whether a fiscal commission can succeed:
A key is to require that a commission's recommendations be considered by the full Congress in an up-or-down vote that cannot be prevented or delayed by congressional leaders or ignored by the president, Mr. Arrington said.
Romina Boccia, the director of budget and entitlement policy at the Cato Institute, proposes two commissions, plus a "fail-safe" mechanism.
"Instead of relying entirely on one commission to come up with a plan to stabilize the debt, Congress could establish two fiscal commissions, working along parallel tracks, to increase the chances of a working proposal emerging from either or both," she wrote on the think tank's website.
"One of the commissions would be a congressional commission, with members of Congress at the helm, guided by a competent staff and perhaps some outside experts. The other commission would be an independent commission, composed entirely of outside experts, guided by competent staff, and including perhaps some former members of Congress (who do not intend to run for re‐election again, ever)."
Ms. Romina's fail-safe provision borrows from the widely-touted Department of Defense (DOD) Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC)of 1988.
If the first, congressionally-based commission failed to come up with a solution that gains a bipartisan majority in Congress, then the recommendations of the second, independent commission become law if the president approves it and Congress does not pass a resolution of disapproval within 45 days.
Asked about the Cato proposal, Mr. Arrington said the problem with Congress is "not a list of ideas on how to fix the problem, it's the political courage to execute on those ideas."
Amen.
You can find the full article at The Epoch Times and on Rep. Arrington’s website.
