WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) voted against the Fiscal Responsibility Act, believing that it does not go far enough to address our country’s spending addiction.
“There is nothing more important to me than addressing our national debt. Since I first arrived in Congress, I have been sounding the alarm on the devastating impact this debt has on our economy, household incomes and savings, policy decisions, national security and, ultimately, American exceptionalism. When I was sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives in 2009, our national debt was $10.6 trillion. Now, it’s $31.8 trillion. The people of Wyoming demand better from those who control our nation’s purse strings and the Fiscal Responsibility Act does not go far enough to make meaningful spending reforms that will set us on a fiscally sustainable path,” said Lummis. “There have been several massive spending bills enacted during my time in the Senate, including the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, that greatly added to this debt – and I have voted against every single one of them. Families in Wyoming make tough spending decisions every single day to ensure they are living within their means, and I will not stop working until the federal government does the same.”
Lummis filed two amendments to the Fiscal Responsibility Act including her Sustainable Budget Act and an amendment to change the date of the suspension of the debt ceiling. Neither amendment was included in the final bill.
The Sustainable Budget Act would establish a bipartisan commission tasked with creating a plan to address our unsustainable national debt and present ways to balance the budget. It would create an 18-member commission chosen by the President and House and Senate leadership tasked with creating a bipartisan plan to reduce the deficit and balance the budget within ten years.
Lummis’ additional amendment would shorten the time for the debt ceiling to be suspended by 14 months, giving Congress a short runway to negotiate further spending reforms and cuts with the White House, while ensuring our country can meet its fiscal obligations.
Two provisions that Lummis was pleased to see included in the final bill included permitting reform and limits on federal rulemaking.
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