Washington, DC — Congressman Randy Feenstra of Hull has introduced legislation to couple any debt ceiling increase with equal federal spending cuts to protect taxpayer dollars and reduce our nation’s $31 trillion debt.
Feenstra says the Dollar-For-Dollar Deficit Reduction Act would require any formal presidential request to raise the debt limit be accompanied by a proposal to reduce spending by the same amount, over a 10-year period, as the numerical increase in the debt ceiling.
Additionally, the Secretary of the Treasury would also be required to inform the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee 60 days in advance of a debt limit default, including a determination of when extraordinary measures may be necessary.
U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) is introducing companion legislation in the U.S. Senate next week.
Feenstra says that due to decades of what he calls “government waste and reckless spending,” our nation’s fiscal health is in crisis. He says the national debt has surpassed a record-breaking $31 trillion while wages have stagnated, “leaving our families, farmers, and main street businesses to pay the bill.”
Feenstra says he came to Congress to end wasteful spending and restore fiscal responsibility “because the consequences of inaction are too severe.” Feenstra says, “As we approach the next debt ceiling negotiation, I am proud to introduce the Dollar-For-Dollar Deficit Reduction Act with Senator John Barrasso to ensure that we cut federal spending by the same amount that we raise the debt limit. This is a commonsense solution that will protect the full faith and credit of the United States and strengthen our economy in the process.”
Under this legislation, any bill considered in the U.S. House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate that increases the debt limit would have to include net spending reductions equal to or greater than the debt limit increases. For suspensions of the debt limit, the spending reductions would have to be equal to the projected debt increase during the suspension determined by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), according to Feenstra.
Feenstra says that per current projections, the United States Treasury will exhaust its extraordinary measures sometime in the next few months. He says that underscores the necessity of this “vital legislation.”
