River Bend Times

In a report requested by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has projected that Senate Republicans' proposed budget could increase the national debt by $52 trillion over the next 30 years. Prior projections estimated the cost of extending the Trump tax law and employing the "current policy baseline" at $37 trillion over the 2024-2054 period.

A recent analysis by the Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that the plan to extend the 2017 Trump tax law, including related interest, would cost $5.5 trillion over the next decade. The budget resolution passed by Senate Republicans last week includes an additional $1.5 trillion for tax giveaways, bringing the total potential 10-year cost of this tax plan to over $7 trillion, primarily benefiting the wealthy and corporations.

Senator Merkley stated, "It has taken over 249 years, since the Founders signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, for the U.S. to accumulate nearly $37 trillion in debt – and today the Republicans want to use a budget gimmick to add an astronomical $52 trillion to our debt with one bill with one intention: to fund massive tax giveaways for billionaires." He further commented, "For 30 years, Republicans have been changing the rules to give tax cuts to the wealthy – and families have been stuck paying the bill. Republicans who claim to care about fiscal responsibility should be outraged and doing everything they can to stop it. This is the Great Betrayal of working families across the country."

Merkley criticized Republican leadership for using the "current policy baseline" to portray their bill as having no added impact on the national debt, while the CBO report indicates a significant increase. Policymakers from both parties share Merkley's view that using the current policy baseline is a budget gimmick that could significantly increase the national debt.

The full response from the CBO can be found [here](#).