U.S. Sens. Todd Young (R-IN), Mitt Romney (R-UT), and Joe Manchin (D-WV) are among a bipartisan group of Senators who introduced a bill that would create a bicameral commission tasked with stabilizing and decreasing the national debt.
The Fiscal Stability Act would establish a 16-member bipartisan, bicameral commission consisting of 12 elected officials and four outside experts. Moreover, the Speaker of the House, House Minority Leader, Senate Majority Leader, and Senate Minority Leader would each appoint four individuals to the commission — three of which must be members of their respective chambers along with one outside expert.
The commission would produce a report and propose legislative solutions to improve the long-term fiscal condition of the federal government, stabilize the ratio of public debt to GDP within a 15-year period, and improve solvency of federal trust funds over a 75-year period.
“A bipartisan fiscal commission would examine all federal spending and make meaningful, bipartisan suggestions on how to solve our debt and deficit challenges,” Young said. “Given the highly polarized political environment, this commission structure is the best way to propose and have a chance of enacting the real reforms needed to get our debt under control.”
The commission would be required to vote on approval of the report and legislative language by May 1, 2025. Further, any report or legislative language produced by the Commission must be approved by a majority of the 12 elected official members, with at least three being from each party. While 60 votes would be required to invoke cloture prior to final passage in the Senate, only a simple majority would be needed for the motion to proceed.
.
“It is immoral and unacceptable for my generation to keep adding to the national debt, expecting our grandchildren to foot the bill for our benefits for the rest of their lives,” Romney said.
The bill is cosponsored by U.S. Sens. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), John Cornyn (R-TX), Mark Warner (D-VA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ).
“Our fiscal house is not in order, and regardless of party affiliation, it is past time we get serious about addressing the unsustainable path our national debt is barreling down,” Manchin said.
The legislation is the companion to the U.S. House of Representative’s bipartisan Fiscal Commission Act, introduced by U.S. Reps. Bill Huizenga (R-MI) and Scott Peters (D-CA).
“Leaving the next generation of Americans with $34 trillion in debt would make the inflation of the last few years look like a joke,” Hickenlooper said. “But if we do nothing, all our federal spending will eventually go to interest payments on our debt and cripple our country. If we do nothing, within 10 years interest payments will exceed federal spending on Medicaid and education. We have to do something now, while we can still preserve a path to prosperity for the American middle-class.”