One of the first major tests for the new House GOP majority is rapidly approaching. One Republican member identified the impending debt ceiling fight as a prime opportunity to rein in the runaway spending that has been the mark of the Biden administration so far.
Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT) appeared on the Sunday broadcast of CBS’s “Face the Nation.” He argued that the primary cause of the four-decade-record inflation that has been hammering the nation is the runaway federal spending overseen by the heretofore Democratic Congress and the Biden White House.
Stewart said that while he does not want to force the federal government to shut down, he expects Democrats to work with Republicans to reach a workable agreement on moving forward.
He said: “There will be Republicans who will say, ‘we need to reform, ‘we need to use this as a vehicle to try to put some limits on our spending and our debt and our deficits,’ and I am one of them.”
Stewart pointed out that the House’s goal should be finding ways to reform spending and reduce federal deficits while protecting the credit of the United States government. “That’s our goal,” he said.
“I think Republicans are aligned on that. I hope the president is as well. And hopefully, we get to an agreement on that,” Stewart added.
.@SpeakerMcCarthy and House Republicans made a Commitment to America, and we intend to honor it.
Accountability is coming. pic.twitter.com/SqlDFwaaAY
— Rep. Chris Stewart (@RepChrisStewart) January 10, 2023
Reports indicate the federal government will hit the debt limit previously established by Congress no later than Thursday.
Joe Biden’s Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wrote to Congressional leaders last week, warning lawmakers they must immediately look into “extraordinary measures” to avoid a debt repayment default by the Treasury.
The U.S. Treas. Sec. has admitted the only way to avoid a default on the National Debt is to raise the #DebtCeiling so the Govt. can borrow from new lenders to repay existing lenders. This amounts to an official admission that the U.S. is running the world's largest Ponzi scheme.
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) January 16, 2023
Among the budgetary items most likely to be addressed in the immediate future is the suspension of new investment payments into various government trust accounts. Those include the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund, the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund, and the Government Securities Investment Fund.
As both parties prepare to battle again on the regularly recurring debt ceiling crisis, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget indicates that federal spending must be cut in all areas by at least 26% to balance the budget over the next ten years.
The immediate test for Republicans will be whether they can even slow down the increase in spending, much less force a reduction by any amount.
