OPINION:
Thirty years ago, the Republican-led House of the 104th Congress achieved something that now feels like a distant memory: a balanced federal budget.
Through determination, unity and a willingness to confront entrenched spending habits, Speaker Newt Gingrich and his colleagues reversed a decades-long trend of deficits, leading to surpluses from 1998 to 2001. It wasn’t easy. President Clinton initially vetoed their plans, and the freshman class’ ambitious four-year timeline clashed with the Republican Conference’s more cautious seven-year perspective. Nevertheless, they proved that fiscal discipline could prevail by maintaining spending levels, freezing regulations and providing tax relief. Today, as we face a projected $1.71 trillion deficit for fiscal year 2026, that legacy offers a lesson and a challenge. It’s time to balance the budget again.
The success of the 1990s wasn’t a fluke. It showed that restraining government excess while unleashing economic potential can align revenues with expenditures. Contrast that with today’s trajectory: The Congressional Budget Office forecasts fiscal year 2026 federal spending at $7.29 trillion against revenues of $5.58 trillion. That gaping hole is fueled by years of unchecked growth in government programs and emergency spending binges such as those during COVID-19. There’s a better way that doesn’t require austerity or tax hikes but rather a return to commonsense fiscal policy.
Imagine a baseline where federal spending grew at the inflation rate, around 2%, during President Trump’s first term before the COVID-19 spike. Applying that to fiscal year 2020’s pre-pandemic budget of roughly $4.4 trillion, we would reach approximately $4.96 trillion for fiscal year 2026. With projected revenues of $5.58 trillion, we could balance the budget and generate a $620 billion surplus to tackle the $34 trillion national debt. Instead, we’re facing $7.29 trillion in spending — a figure inflated by waste, inefficiency and regulatory overreach. Closing that $1.71 trillion gap isn’t impossible; it’s a matter of priorities.
Enter Mr. Trump’s latest innovation: the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), proposed by entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. DOGE’s mission is “decentralizing the narrative around government spending” and making efficiency a standard, offering a fresh approach. Rather than blanket cuts, it targets waste, fraud and abuse. To slash $2 trillion from federal expenditures, DOGE could bridge the deficit gap entirely, but it can’t be done alone. Congress must step up.
First, tax policy. Renewing the Trump tax cuts from 2017 should be a no-brainer. Critics point to the Senate Budget Committee’s $4.6 trillion decade-long cost estimate, but that’s a static view of a dynamic economy. The late 1990s proved otherwise: Tax relief fueled 4.5% annual gross domestic product growth, the highest since the Reagan era, and federal revenues rose faster than the prior decade. Lower rates spark investment, hiring and consumer spending, broadening the tax base. Paired with spending restraint, this is a proven recipe for balance.
Second, regulations. The Biden administration’s $1.7 trillion in new regulatory costs, as reported by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is a millstone on economic growth. Congress should mandate an AI-driven review of federal rules modeled on successful South Carolina and Ohio efforts to ax outdated or duplicative burdens. Streamlining regulations doesn’t just save money; it unleashes businesses to innovate and expand, boosting revenues without raising taxes.
Finally, spending itself. DOGE’s $2 trillion target is ambitious but achievable. Beyond waste and fraud, entire programs could face scrutiny. Do we need every layer of bureaucracy built over decades? Can technology replace outdated systems? The 104th Congress showed that holding spending flat for a year is possible; today’s tools, such as artificial intelligence and data analytics, make it easier to identify cuts without slashing vital services.
The payoff? A balanced budget by fiscal year 2026, debt reduction starting at $620 billion and an economy potentially exceeding the 4.5% growth of the late 1990s. Critics will cry that it’s too hard, that entitlements or defense can’t be touched, but the alternative —perpetual deficits piling onto an unsustainable debt — are far grimmer. With DOGE exposing inefficiency, Congress cutting red tape and tax relief igniting growth, that future is within reach. It’s not about ideology; it’s about arithmetic. Thirty years ago, Republicans showed it could be done. Now, it’s time to do it again.
• Todd Tiahrt and Mark Neumann were freshman class members of the 104th Congress (1995-1996) and served on the House Appropriations Committee.
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