Statement on House Passage of Fiscal Responsibility Act

The House of Representatives recently passed the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), which according to CBO would reduce debt levels by roughly $1.5 trillion, as written, while also suspending the debt limit and enacting a number of policy reforms. The bill will now move to the Senate for consideration.

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

The Fiscal Responsibility Act is the largest deficit reduction bill in over a decade, and we applaud members of both parties for passing it through the House. After years of making deficits worse, it is refreshing to see bipartisan action toward making them better. The bill represents fiscally responsible policymaking, bipartisanship, and compromise – all things that are necessary to ultimately tackle our out-of-control debt.

Given the nation’s unsustainable fiscal situation, we would have loved to see a larger package of savings more than anyone. It’s easy to sit in the cheap seats and throw grenades but legislating actual deficit reduction is hard, and it shows true leadership to compromise for the good of the country and begin putting the budget on a better path.

This bill will importantly avoid default, and we encourage the Senate to pass the bill and send it to the President’s desk as soon as possible.

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