Via Gingrich 360: The Republican Budget Opportunity
The United States has an unsustainably high level of debt, which undermines efforts to promote economic growth, threatens the dollar’s strength as the global reserve currency, and jeopardizes America’s standing as the world’s superpower.
In a recent column published on Gingrich 360, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich writes about the massive opportunity ahead to cut waste from the federal budget. With a Trump-Vance Administration that is prioritizing reforms to make government work more efficiently, Republicans in the 119th Congress are uniquely positioned to right-size the bloated federal bureaucracy and restore fiscal sanity to Washington.
Word on the Street:
Speaker Newt Gingrich, Via Gingrich 360:
President Donald J. Trump and the Republicans have an enormous opportunity to get government spending under control, cut waste and fraud from our health care system, and move toward a balanced budget.
...The Winston Group made a series of important findings after running focus groups in early January with 1,200 registered voters:
- Inflation was the construct by which people viewed the economy and taxes. As a result, the most important personal outcome from tax policy was helping you deal with inflation and high prices in your household budget (mean 7.52 on a scale of 1-9 with 1 being not important at all and 9 extremely important), followed by creating economic growth (7.39) and greater ability to save for the future and retirement (7.38).
- In terms of debt solutions, spending cuts and tax increases are not on equal footing. Voters want government spending to be addressed first, as they do not believe they should be penalized for the government’s overspending. As one voter in our focus groups said, ‘The government needs to look at its own spending. That’s the common denominator here. Every single year they are in a deficit. … It’s not the taxpayers’ burden anymore. We’re the ones giving them the money, and they are the ones not handling it correctly.’ Voters have not ruled out tax increases, but this is seen as a last resort rather than first option, creating an uphill battle for proponents of tax increases.
- In a direct choice, government spending was overwhelmingly seen as a bigger problem (76%) than not enough revenue coming in from taxes (16%). This is the case across party (Republicans: 89-7; Independents 77-15; Democrats 63-27).
The Bottom Line:
As the debt grows, Washington must borrow more money to finance it. Higher rates of federal borrowing lead to higher borrowing costs for businesses and families on everything from mortgages, to car loans, to small-business financing. This stifles economic growth and strains household budgets. Rising national debt makes everyone pay more.
It’s time to face reality. The era of spending without limits or accountability has reached its breaking point. We must start by reducing the debt, a challenge that is not insurmountable.
More from the House Budget Committee:
U.S. House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) recently penned an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal highlighting the fiscal risks posed by surging interest costs HERE.
Chairman Arrington issued a statement on President Trump signing an executive order officially establishing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) HERE.
