Washington Post Highlights 3% of GDP Deficit Resolution

The Washington Post’s Editorial Board recently published a piece applauding the introduction of a new resolution calling for a 3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) budget deficit target, introduced by Bipartisan Fiscal Forum co-chairs Representatives Bill Huizenga (R-MI) and Scott Peters (D-CA) alongside Representatives Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) and Mike Quigley (D-IL). They were joined by House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-TX), as well as the rest of the Bipartisan Fiscal Forum steering committee, consisting of Representatives Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Blake Moore (R-UT), Ed Case (D-HI), Erin Houchin (R-IN), Steve Womack (R-AR), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA), Dusty Johnson (R-SD), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), Ron Estes (R-KS), and Jared Golden (D-ME).

Noting that the deficit is currently larger as a share of the economy than it was during the Great Depression, the Editorial Board explains that a 3% of GDP deficit goal “is bipartisan recognition that the path the deficit is on undercuts the federal government’s ability to function.”

At about the size of the entire U.S. economy, the national debt is on track to exceed its post-World War II record of 106% within the next three years. The 3% target would help to stabilize the debt at around its current level, requiring $7.5 trillion of savings over the next decade to achieve. That is a difficult but realistic goal.

The 3% of GDP target has been endorsed by the Board of Directors of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. It has also been widely cited around the world and domestically, with the European Union’s Stability and Growth Pact recently affirming a 3% target. A 3% deficit-to-GDP target has also received bipartisan support, including from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and others in the Trump Administration, as well as from the Obama Administration in the early 2010s, among others.

As the Editorial Board writes:

While the goal is reasonable, however, the hard truth is that hitting it won’t be easy. Congress will need to look at mandatory spending (mostly Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid), which, along with interest payments, accounts for roughly three-quarters of annual expenditures. Mandatory spending currently takes place on autopilot, outside the annual budget process. Everything needs to be on the table to get the debt under control.

Policymakers will need to enact entitlement reforms, spending cuts, revenue increases, trust fund solutions, and health care savings in order to achieve such a goal. They should start by committing to Super PAYGO and enacting $2 of savings for any $1 of new costs.

Read the full piece here.