GOP rep urges lawmakers to ‘right-size’ bloated bureaucracy, national debt: ‘Wheels are coming off the wagon’

Bloated bureaucracy and growing debt are holding back President Donald Trump’s economic “golden age,” according to one House Republican who is urging lawmakers to have the “political courage” to execute Trump’s America First agenda and pass a budget reconciliation bill.

Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, appeared on “Fox News Sunday” where he was asked about his concerns over out-of-control spending and the rising national debt – a combination that he previously said is “the greatest threat to our country and our children’s future.”

“The question is, will we have the political courage to execute on that and right-size the bloated bureaucracy, as was reflected in the president’s budget, and deal with this wartime-level debt, $2 trillion in annual deficit spending that’s going to double, and interest payments that exceed not only national defense, but Medicare payments,” said Arrington, who is chair of the House Budget Committee.

Arrington warned that this would prove to be a “pivotal” moment for America.

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Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, speaks at a news conference at the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Cotton Classification Complex on April 16 in Lubbock, Texas. (Mateo Rosiles/ Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

“The wheels are coming off the wagon,” he said. “We can’t get to the president’s rocket ship economy, we cannot usher in the golden age. In fact, we risk a sovereign debt crisis if we don’t deal with the unsustainable deficits and national debt.”

Arrington said that he believed the pro-growth policies in the budget reconciliation bill and a reduction in deficit spending, along with entitlement reform, “will bend the curve on debt to GDP and deficit to GDP.”

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“So if we follow the framework that we laid out in the budget resolution, then we will restore fiscal health,” he said, though he did not provide specifics on the bill’s policies.

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Democrats, however, have accused Republicans of trying to cut costs by slashing Medicaid, affecting America’s “most vulnerable.”

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The White House has maintained that public entitlements, including Social Security and Medicaid, will not be cut in the Republicans’ budget bill. 

Arrington conceded that the bill alone would not solve America’s debt crisis.

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“It won’t get us out of the debt hole overnight, but it is a good first step and a down payment for our kids to actually be on good fiscal footing, a sustainable path, and enjoy the same opportunities and freedoms that we have,” the lawmaker said.