OPINION:
The fiscal state of the nation is tenuous. While Democrats are pushing forward an outlandish partisan spending bill, it is counterintuitive that they also passed a sensible Fiscal State of the Nation Resolution.
When our country is so politically divided, the passage of this legislation provides Americans with a glimmer of hope for our Republic.
House Concurrent Resolution 44 requires an annual joint public hearing of the House and Senate Budget Committees. At this hearing, the Comptroller General of the United States must present the findings of the audited financial statement of the federal government.
Sound fiscal policies and oversight are where Congress should be focused. Rather than adhere to the statutorily required appropriations process, Democrats are using the budget reconciliation process to push through trillions in partisan spending, all while the federal government is operating under a Continuing Resolution.
While the financial effect of this spending on the federal government’s balance sheet may not be fully realized for several years, it is imperative that we keep close tabs on how our revenues, spending, and debt level are faring.
Republicans are not the only ones raising a red flag about spending over a trillion in taxpayer dollars and how it will increase our national deficit. Just last week, during a press conference, Democratic Senator Joe Manchin stated: “I will not support a reconciliation package that expands social programs and irresponsibly adds to our $29 trillion in national debt that no one really seems to care about or even talk about.”
For months, fellow Republican members and I have had difficulty even receiving a call back from Federal Agencies as we work to serve our districts. Since most funding is on autopilot, heads of agencies do not see the necessity of talking to members of Congress about appropriations. It is time to end the hamster wheel of Congress receiving piecemealed information from the executive branch and legislative support agencies. We need a comprehensive, data-driven analysis and presentation to ensure our fiscal policies are working to ensure the financial health of our nation, not just in the next few years but for the next few decades as well.
This legislation will provide the Congressional Budget Committees with an unbiased, analytical understanding of the audited financial statement of the federal government.
Of course, there will be problems in completing this audit, as the Department of Defense has yet to receive a full financial audit opinion 31 years after Congress first required it by law. By passing the Fiscal State of the Nation Resolution, Congress ensures that this statutorily required audit is achieved and that members can gain a comprehensive understanding of the federal government’s financial health.
Congress clearly found a way to put aside partisan differences to pass this legislation. Financial success and longevity begin years before they are realized, and succumbing to a partisan agenda will doom future generations. For these generations, we cannot be reckless with our nation’s financial future now.
• Michael Burgess is an American physician and politician representing Texas’s 26th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives.
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