A True Pivot in Budgeting

Moments ago, the House passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which would reduce the deficit substantially this decade and beyond. The bill passed the Senate earlier this week and now heads to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.

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

With today’s passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, lawmakers made an important pivot from reckless to responsible budgeting.  This bill started out as a plan filled with gimmicks that would add massively to the national debt and ended as one to reduce the deficit, help the Federal Reserve push against inflation, and serve as a model for how legislation can improve with real effort and leadership.

Lawmakers managed to accomplish their goals for energy, climate, health care, and tax policy while also sending the message that it’s time to start working to get our budget back on a sustainable trajectory. This bill is proof that when something is worth doing, it’s worth paying for, and reducing our nation’s alarming national debt is just as important as other pressing issues we face.

Members of Congress deserve tremendous credit for remaining committed to getting this bill across the line. The bill isn’t perfect, and there’s much more that remains to be done. But at a time of high inflation, soaring debt, and a willingness to duck the hard choices, those who persisted in finding a sustainable path forward have helped strengthen our fiscal foundation. From here, Congress should take this moment as an example, prioritizing deficit reduction as the normal, everyday aspect of governing it ought to be. We believe that for any dollar spent or cut in taxes, more should be devoted to reducing the debt.

After years of running up the nation’s credit card bill with virtually no end in sight, policymakers now recognize what we’ve long argued to be true: that this nation should pay for the extraordinary things it sets out to do, and the only thing stopping us is the lack of political will to make it happen.

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