Congress Should Offset New Supplemental Spending

As lawmakers prepare a continuing resolution (CR) to extend current government funding levels, the White House has requested about $47 billion in supplemental funding for Ukraine, combatting COVID-19 and monkeypox, and providing disaster relief.

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

With inflation surging and the national debt approaching record levels, now is not the time to add more to the national credit card. 

The President’s requests would address important domestic and international priorities, but that doesn’t mean we should borrow to pay for them. If these truly are priorities for the White House, they should suggest accompanying spending cuts or revenues to pay for them. And Congress should not attach additional funding to any CR without sufficient offsets. 

It’s bad enough that Congress is operating without a budget and can’t pass appropriations bills on time. The least they can do now is prevent the government from shutting down at the end of the month and ensure that they don’t add to the debt in the process. 

It seems for every one step forward, we take two or three steps back – just look at last month’s costly and inflationary student debt plan adding half a trillion to deficits. 

Any supplemental funding should be paid for. We’ve known about these issues for quite some time, and adding even more to the national debt to meet these needs would be irresponsible. Further borrowing would make the Federal Reserve’s job of fighting inflation even harder and increase the risk we end up in a recession. Congress should be judicious in how much supplemental funding it passes and ensure this new funding is fully offset. 

###

For more information, please contact Kim McIntyre, Director of Media Relations, at mcintyre@crfb.org