America's debt tops $34 trillion, but commission to address it looks dead in Congress
A promising start has given way to challenging political realities for supporters of a bipartisan commission to tackle the federal government’s growing debt challenges
WASHINGTON — For Mike Johnson it was effectively a Day 1 priority.
It's well past time, the newly elected House speaker said in October, to establish a bipartisan commission to tackle the federal government's growing $34.6 trillion in debt. «The consequences if we don’t act now are unbearable,” he said, echoing warnings from his predecessor and other House Republicans.
More than six months later, the proposal appears all but dead, extinguished by vocal opposition from both the right and the left.
The collapse underscores an unyielding dynamic in Washington, with lawmakers in both parties loath to consider the unpopular tradeoffs that would be necessary to stem the nation's swelling tide of red ink — particularly in an election year. Facing the reality that any fiscal commission would almost certainly suggest that Americans pay more or get less from their government, lawmakers have time and again done what they do so well: punt the problem to the next Congress. And they seem poised to do so again.
Many Democrats and left-leaning advocacy groups oppose the commission because they fear it would recommend cuts to Social Security benefits. Some Republicans and right-leaning groups are against it as well, fearing the panel would recommend tax increases. They’ve labeled the commission a “tax trap.”
“I’m disappointed that we haven’t got as much momentum as I thought we would,” said Rep. Jodey Arrington, the Republican chairman of the House Budget Committee. “The speaker supported it, endorsed it from the outset. But I think there are some outside groups that
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