Open Letter Urges Candidates to Focus on the Debt

Open Letter Urges Candidates to Focus on the Debt  October 3, 2024

Tuesday marked the start of Fiscal Year 2025. With the ringing in of a new fiscal year, and with just over a month until Election Day, Board Members from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget co-signed a letter calling on both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump to put forward a plan showing voters how they would address the national debt.     The letter follows a growing chorus of calls on the need to address rising debt and deficits and can be found below.

Dear Vice President Harris and former President Trump, On behalf of the bipartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, we are asking you to make the critical issue of our skyrocketing national debt one of your top policy priorities as you seek the presidency. Our mounting debt is a bipartisan problem, and whoever wins the presidency should confront this challenge within their term. Our publicly held debt will soon surpass the entire size of the U.S. economy, and debt is projected to exceed its previous record, 106% of GDP, in 2027. At a projected cost of $892 billion this year, our nation already spends more on interest on the debt than we do on both national defense and all federal spending on children. Unfortunately, high and rising debt carries significant repercussions for all Americans, including slower economic growth and higher interest rates. Rising debt also limits our ability to respond to unexpected emergencies like natural disasters and pandemics, and it is a national security threat as well. Presidential leadership will be absolutely necessary in addressing these challenges. American voters deserve to hear your plans for improving our fiscal trajectory. A robust debate on this issue would not only enrich our democracy, but also equip voters with the necessary information to make informed decisions this fall. We hope you both will acknowledge the need to address the national debt and that this will be a priority for the next administration. Sincerely,

Mitch Daniels Co-Chair, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget

Leon Panetta Co-Chair, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget

Tim Penny Co-Chair, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget

Barry Anderson Former Acting Director, Congressional Budget Office Erskine Bowles Former White House Chief of Staff Saxby Chambliss Former United States Senator Jim Cooper Former United States Congressman Dan Crippen Former Director, Congressional Budget Office Esther George Former President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Bill Gradison, Jr. Former United States Congressman Keith Hall Former Director, Congressional Budget Office Jane Harman Former United States Congresswoman Heidi Heitkamp Former United States Senator G. William Hoagland Former Staff Director, Senate Budget Committee James Jones Former United States Congressman John Kasich Former Governor of Ohio Lou Kerr President and Chair, The Kerr Foundation Ron Kind Former United States Congressman Maya MacGuineas President, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget Marjorie Margolies Former United States Congresswoman Dave McCurdy Former United States Congressman James T. McIntyre, Jr. Former Director, Office of Management and Budget Michael Nutter Former Mayor of Philadelphia Marne Obernauer, Jr. Director, The Obernauer Foundation Rudolph Penner Former Director, Congressional Budget Office Franklin Raines Former Director, Office of Management and Budget Robert Reischauer Former Director, Congressional Budget Office Reid Ribble Former United States Congressman Charles Robb Former United States Senator Isabel Sawhill Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution Alan K. Simpson Former United States Senator C. Eugene Steuerle Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Tax Analysis David Stockman Former Director, Office of Management and Budget John Tanner Former United States Congressman Tom Tauke Former United States Congressman Carol Cox Wait Former President, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget

 

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