Bipartisan, Bicameral Support for a Fiscal Commission

Senators John Curtis (R-UT) and Angus King (I-ME) recently introduced the Fiscal Commission Act, a bipartisan bill that would establish a fiscal commission to address the nation’s increasingly unsustainable debt and deficits. They’re joined by 8 additional cosponsors from both sides of the aisle, including Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Todd Young (R-IN).

The legislation builds on the broad and bipartisan support we’ve seen toward establishing a commission, including similar legislation introduced in the House by the leaders of the Bipartisan Fiscal Forum last year and the support of the Problem Solvers Caucus, a majority of the Senate, and a diverse group of experts and outside thought leaders. Over 260 current lawmakers have supported a fiscal commission in some capacity in the last few years.

The proposed commission would include 16 members chosen by Congressional leadership – 12 lawmakers along with 4 outside experts – and would recommend policies to stabilize the debt at 100 percent of the economy by 2039 and achieve 75-year solvency for the federal trust funds. Recommendations receiving a majority vote by the commission, including two votes from each party, would receive expedited consideration in the Senate and House.

The following is a statement from Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget:

As our national debt approaches record levels, support for a fiscal commission is broad, bipartisan, and bicameral.  

Deficits are currently twice the 3% of GDP target that many experts recommend, major trust funds are hurtling toward insolvency, and the federal government is spending $1 trillion a year on interest. Now more than ever, we need a bipartisan commission to help policymakers correct our unsustainable fiscal path.  

A commission isn’t a substitute for policy change or for political will, but rather a tool to support both. It offers a venue for honest dialogue to occur, where our elected officials can talk to – not past – each other, and it eases some of the burden of making the choices that are difficult but necessary.  A bipartisan commission creates the opportunity for lawmakers to begin fixing the debt.  

We commend Senators Curtis and King, along with all the other cosponsors of the Fiscal Commission Act, for taking this important step toward fiscal sanity. 

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For more information, please contact Matt Klucher, Assistant Director for Media Relations, at klucher@crfb.org.