Lubbock Times

House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX) recently authored an Op-Ed in The Hill, emphasizing the urgent need for deficit reduction. As Congress prepares to address the first of 12 annual appropriations bills intended to fund the government for another year, Arrington highlights the diminishing share of discretionary spending in the overall budget.

"Expect the usual cacophony of arguments over defense versus non-defense priorities, policy riders, earmarks and the like," Arrington writes. He notes that this process will likely end without a definitive conclusion until after — if not well after — the November election.

Arrington points out that appropriations represent a declining portion of the budget, from over 50 percent in the 1970s to roughly 30 percent today, with projections indicating it will shrink to about 20 percent over the next decade. This trend results in Congress spending more time debating a smaller part of federal spending while ignoring automatic federal spending growth.

He identifies unchecked mandatory spending on programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and welfare as significant threats to economic security. According to projections by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), mandatory spending will consume nearly 80 percent of federal spending by 2034 and is expected to drive national debt to $54 trillion over the next decade. This equates to approximately $381,000 owed per household.

Interest payments on this debt are growing rapidly. "Annual payments in 2024 are projected to be $870 billion," exceeding expenditures on national defense ($817 billion), Medicaid ($557 billion), and veterans’ benefits ($181 billion).

Arrington criticizes how current processes incentivize action on discretionary spending but allow mandatory spending to grow unchecked. Since Congress has not completed appropriations on time since 1996, it can extend this process indefinitely; however, failure would result in a government shutdown.

Debates around discretionary spending focus on increasing budgets annually by inflation rates. In contrast, discussions about mandatory spending revolve around potential cuts, which creates political dissonance for lawmakers and special interests.

"Our country has dug a very deep hole for itself," Arrington states. He attributes some of this fiscal strain to unbridled spending under the Biden administration, leading to rapid increases in national debt.

Arrington concludes by calling for more leaders in Washington to address these issues proactively: "We need more leaders...to sound the alarm, educate the public, offer plans and come together to find solutions."

The Bottom Line: Mandatory spending continues growing as a share of the Federal Budget while Congress fights over less and less each year. Ignoring unsustainable growth in automatic federal spending is considered a grave mistake by Chairman Arrington.

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