Kevin McCarthy: Wasteful Government Doesn’t Have to Keep Growing

[Geee]

WSJ

In Washington, wasteful government spending almost always goes up. “When a business or an individual spends more than it makes, it goes bankrupt,” Ronald Reagan observed. “When government does it, it sends you the bill.”

As a result, the growth of government and wasteful spending often seem inevitable. But House Republicans’ Fiscal Responsibility Act proves they aren’t. Last year Republicans made a common-sense commitment to America: Entrust us with the majority and we will stop the out-of-control inflationary spending that is harming our country.

 

The American people know that Democrats’ spending addiction has caused significant problems, including the inflation that has broken family budgets. Rapid interest-rate hikes in response to inflationary spending caused three of the largest bank failures in history in the past several months.

All of this has made America more dependent on foreign debt-holders. The total debt we now owe to other countries is $7.4 trillion. Countries like China are buying more of our farmland, more of our businesses and more of our debt.

Everyone knows this is unsustainable and irresponsible. But to change course, we need to change how Washington operates. That is what House Republicans have fought for since Jan. 12, when I called on President Biden to negotiate a responsible debt-limit increase. For 97 days, Mr. Biden dragged his feet and instead promoted a far-left wish list that included more reckless spending, more taxes and more debt. Apparently he thought he could ignore the national debt crisis like he ignores the crisis at the southern border.

House Republicans never gave up. While the president ducked negotiations and Senate Democrats were missing in action, Republicans passed a bill that forced Mr. Biden to the table and changed the paradigm. With the introduction of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, we are changing the direction in Washington through a responsible debt-limit increase that cuts spending, saves taxpayers money and restores economic growth.