U.S. Congressman Jay Obernolte, who represents the Morongo Basin, introduced a bill last week that he claims would address America’s national debt. The United States currently has a debt of over $28 trillion. Obernolte says his bill, H.R. 263, the Finding Federal Savings Committee Resolution, would create reductions in federal spending by eliminating nonessential and underperforming federal programs. However, the Government Accountability Office, says federal spending would have to be reduced by 27 percent to close the fiscal gap without increasing revenue. Managing editor Tami Roleff has more information about Obernolte’s second bill, the Balanced Budget Amendment…
Rep. Jay Obernolte says his Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution, House Joint Resolution 32, would prevent further growth of the national debt by requiring the federal government to balance its $4.7 trillion budget. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the deficit is $2.3 trillion, which would mean that the federal government would have to cut its budget by nearly 50 percent, or increase revenues by 36 percent. (Individual taxes account for $1.6 trillion dollars (or 47 percent) of revenue; corporate taxes totaling $212 billion comprise only 6 percent of the government’s revenues. Social Security, payroll taxes, and other receipts total about $1.6 trillion.) In order for the Balanced Budget Amendment to become law, it would need to be passed by two-thirds of the members in the House and the Senate, and then passed by voters or legislatures in 38 states.
https://www.gao.gov/americas-fiscal-future
