As Republicans in Congress explore how they will accomplish President Donald Trump’s agenda through budget reconciliation, concerns about a national debt crisis percolate in the background.
“Whether new spending comes in the form of tax relief or actual new spending, such as a border wall … it will have to be offset, because it can’t result in a net increase to the deficit,” Rep. Andy Harris, chair of the powerful House Freedom Caucus, said in a statement.
The United States national debt currently stands at $36 trillion. In 2000, the debt stood at only $6 trillion. Now the United States pays more each year now on the interest on the debt than on national defense and Medicare. Last year, the United States spent $1.2 trillion on interest payments, which was the highest ever recorded.
Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., has been pushing for at least $2.5 trillion in…
