Brentwood, TN – Today Marsha Blackburn announced her pathway to reduce the national debt. Blackburn is well-known for her commitment to fiscal conservatism.
Speaking about the pathway, Blackburn said, “Tennesseans are tired of Washington wastefully spending their money, and it’s just another reason the Senate is broken. I’m a committed fiscal conservative. Beginning with my time as a state senator—where I led the opposition to the state income tax—to my time in the House, I’ve been a deficit hawk, and I plan to take that same steely commitment to the U.S. Senate.”
Balancing the budget and reducing our debt requires a combination of cuts and pro-growth policies. Passing a Balanced Budget Amendment will put an end to the runaway spending that has plagued Washington for decades. Blackburn has supported across the board spending reductions, with exceptions for the military, that will ensure that all agencies shoulder the same burden in order to bring spending under control, but we must couple this with additional tax reform to continue growing our economy.
Find the pathway below and online HERE.
BLACKBURN’S PATHWAY TO REDUCE THE NATIONAL DEBT
THE PROBLEM
The national debt currently sits at 21.4 trillion dollars. This is the result of prior Republican and Democrat administrations kicking the can down the road and refusing to tighten Washington’s fiscal belt.
THE SOLUTION
We must stand ready to make difficult choices. Blackburn’s pathway to balance the budget and reduce our long-term debt involves the following:
PASS A BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT
- Congress should pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution requiring the federal government to balance its budget just like our state is required. Such an amendment would be approved by two thirds of the House and Senate and ratified by three-fourths of the states.
REDUCE FEDERAL SPENDING ACROSS THE BOARD AND REFORM ENTITLEMENTS
- Across the board spending cuts – with an exception for military spending – are a solution that would reduce spending in a neutral and fair manner because everyone shoulders some of the responsibility. The advantage of passing such legislation is that it can be acted upon quickly. Time is of the essence, and our national debt continues to skyrocket out of control.
- In addition, mandatory spending accounts for approximately 60 percent of all federal monies spent. Social Security is projected to be insolvent by 2034 and Medicare will run out of money by 2026. We must reform entitlement programs by embracing ideas such as block granting Medicaid to the states. Our trust funds, Social Security and Medicare must be stabilized for younger workers, and eligibility requirements reviewed to save these programs for future generations.
MAKE TAX CUTS PERMANENT
- The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has spurred the economy to four percent growth, sustained record low unemployment, and put more money into the pockets of hard-working Tennesseans. These tax cuts were not “crumbs.” Rather, they were a solution that yielded tremendous economic impacts.
- Congress should move to make the tax cuts permanent and examine further cuts for the middle class and small businesses. Cutting spending alone will not solve the problem, we must grow our economy. Tennesseans have witnessed first hand the benefits of economic growth resulting from low taxation.