U.S. senator Young, Colleagues Introduce Fiscal Commission Act

U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) joined Senators John Curtis (R-Utah) and Angus King (I-Maine) to introduce the Fiscal Commission Act, legislation to strengthen America’s fiscal health. The bill would create a bipartisan, bicameral fiscal commission tasked with finding legislative solutions to stabilize spending and decrease the national debt, which now exceeds $38.8 trillion.

“Our nation's finances must be stabilized for future generations,” said Senator Young. “I’ve long been a supporter of creating a fiscal commission to examine federal spending in a non-partisan way. We must identify areas for meaningful reforms and then enact real change to get our budget and debt under control.”

“Our national debt has ballooned to over $38 trillion—a staggering figure that threatens higher costs for families, fewer economic opportunities, and a heavier burden for future generations,” said Senator Curtis. “Our children and grandchildren need real reform, which is why we’re introducing the Fiscal Commission Act. This legislation creates a bipartisan, bicameral process to develop meaningful solutions to confront our unsustainable debt, safeguard our economic strength, and ensure fiscal stability well into the future.”

“Right now, the national debt breaks down to over $113,000 for every man woman and child in this country—that’s overwhelming and unsustainable. To add insult to injury, payments on interest alone—just this year—have become a larger source of spending than both Medicare and national defense spending,” said Senator King. “The Fiscal Commission Act will ensure that our government works in a bipartisan, bicameral manner to find legislative solutions that stabilize spending and decrease the national debt, since both parties dug this hole and we need to work together to get out of it. This bill is an important step forward in fiscal responsibility for future generations and most importantly moves the country in a direction where the government is a more responsible steward of taxpayer dollars.”

U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), and Mark Warner (D-Va.) also joined the legislation.           

Background

The national debt now exceeds $38.8 trillion, which is approximately 124% of the entire U.S. economy. It’s projected that the federal government will spend more than $1 trillion on interest on the debt alone in 2026, making it a larger expenditure than Medicare and national defense, and second only to Social Security.

How It Works:

• The legislation would establish a 16-member bipartisan, bicameral commission consisting of 12 elected officials and four outside experts.
  • The Speaker of the House, House Minority Leader, Senate Majority Leader, and Senate Minority Leader each appoint four individuals to the Commission, of which three must be members from their respective chambers and one must be an outside expert.
• The Commission would produce a report and propose legislation aiming to improve the long-term fiscal condition of the Federal Government, stabilize the ratio of public debt to GDP within a 15-year period, and improve the solvency of Federal trust funds over a 75-year period.
• The Commission would be required to vote on approval of the report and legislative language by May 17, 2027.
• Any report or legislative language produced by the Commission must be approved by a majority of the 12 elected official members, with at least two being from each party.   
• If the Commission approves proposed legislative language, it would receive expedited consideration in both chambers.
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  While 60 votes would be required to invoke cloture prior to final passage in the Senate, only a simple majority would be needed for the motion to proceed, which would be privileged. A one-pager on the legislation is available here. Full bill text is available her