Enzi Statement on CBO's 2019 Long-Term Budget Outlook

Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, released the following statement on the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) 2019 Long-Term Budget Outlook:

"CBO's latest projections make it clear that Washington has a spending problem. Our autopilot spending continues to grow almost entirely unchecked. Fifty years ago, such spending comprised 36 percent of total spending. Today, that figure is approaching 70 percent, and according to CBO's estimate, will top 80 percent in just over a decade. Despite increasingly dire warnings that our country is on unsustainable fiscal course, there is little congressional scrutiny or effective controls over this spending. An important step toward putting the nation on a more sustainable fiscal path starts with fixing our broken budget and spending process in order to confront these issues in a responsible way."

CBO projects the debt held by the public will reach 144 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2049. CBO notes that if the national debt continues to grow unchecked, large budget deficits over the next 30 years would drive federal debt held by the public to unprecedented levels and eclipse the current record set in 1946 after World War II.

The Senate Budget Committee will hold a hearing tomorrow focused on fixing the nation's broken budget and spending process and securing the nation's fiscal future.

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