River Bend Times

Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) issued a statement on the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) new 10-year budget and economic outlook. "Congressional Democrats and the White House ought to read this report cover to cover. After reviewing the data, it’d be unthinkable for anyone to consider continuing down the current fiscal path," Grassley said. "The Biden administration has saddled generations of Americans with inflationary conditions and astronomical interest rates. The CBO’s long-term outlook leaves Washington bureaucrats with one viable option: to quit wasting taxpayers’ money and start making some sane spending decisions."

The CBO’s latest report, “An Update to the Budget and Economic Outlook: 2024 to 2034,” outlines how the budget and economy will look under existing laws for the next decade.

Key findings from the report include:

- Debt and deficits are projected to rise.

- Interest costs are expected to soar.

- Federal spending is heading toward historic levels.

- Revenues are on track to significantly exceed the historic average but will not keep pace with spending on mandatory programs and interest on the debt.

- Executive actions alone have pushed spending and deficits higher.

- Major trust funds are moving toward insolvency, meaning that when these funds exhaust their balances, programs will need to cut spending to match their dedicated revenues under current law.

Grassley also commented on what he termed as "Biden’s open border" impacting state and local finances.