River Bend Times

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has released new projections, outlining economic and federal budget expectations for the next 30 years. The report indicates that the national debt could expand to 156 percent of GDP without intervention.

In response to the CBO’s findings, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, the Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, expressed concern over the trajectory of the national debt. “Today’s projections show our nation’s debt will continue to rise if Congress does not act," Merkley emphasized. He criticized Congressional Republicans, accusing them of intending to add $37 trillion to the national debt using a “current policy baseline” budget strategy. Merkley argued that this approach benefits wealthy individuals at the expense of ordinary Americans. "Congressional Republicans have lost their minds when it comes to deficit reduction," Merkley stated. “They clearly made promises during the last election – unfortunately, those promises were to their rich friends, and not to hardworking Americans."

The CBO’s detailed projections are available for public access.