Issue Position: Budget Deficit
Issue Position
Issue Position: Budget Deficit
As a senior member of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, Senator Wyden has pushed to return fiscal sanity to our government and pay off our national debt. The debt has skyrocketed since 2000 as budget surpluses have been replaced with record deficits. Because of the combination of reckless tax cuts for the wealthy and an increase in government spending of nearly 40% since 2002, our debt is mounting at an alarming rate. Experts project that the gross federal debt will climb from $5.8 billion in 2001 to $14.9 billion in 2014. Should this be the case, every American's share of the national debt will be reach $46,660 by 2014.
To combat the rising debt, Senator Wyden has worked closely with Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad of North Dakota to ensure that Congress adheres to "pay-as-you-go" (PAYGO) budget rules, where increases in direct spending or reductions in revenues in the annual budget are required to be offset by an equivalent amount of direct spending cuts or additional revenue (e.g. ending an existing tax loophole). Although this rule had been in effect for many years, previous Congresses have unfortunately circumvented it and authorized large sums of additional spending through emergency funding. Senator Wyden believes that for too long Congress and President Bush have allowed taxpayer dollars to flow through its fingers like water, letting large amounts of money remain unaccounted for and recklessly raising our national debt.
In the 110th Congress, Senator Wyden is focusing on balancing the budget through increased efficiencies in our tax system and keeping the crushing costs of health care at bay.
In addition, Senator Wyden is working hard to lower the tax gap, the difference between what the government is owed in taxes every year and what it actually receives. One estimate by the Government Accounting Office (GAO) puts the tax gap at $345 billion a year. Some believe that the tax gap could be as high as $500 billion a year due to the growth of offshore tax avoidance schemes. Simply increasing tax compliance by those who are not paying their fair share would increase tax fairness for the majority of Americans who play by the rules. It would also generate substantial revenues to pay down the national debt.
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