05.25.17

Enzi: President’s Budget Recognizes Nation’s Challenging Fiscal Situation

WASHINGTON D.C. – During a hearing on the President’s fiscal year 2018 budget request, Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, today said that by submitting a balanced budget request, the President recognizes the challenging financial situation the nation is in.

“I appreciate that the President and Director Mulvaney recognize the challenging financial situation the United States is in by attempting to do the first balanced budget submitted by a president in years,” said Chairman Enzi.   “As Chairman of the Budget Committee I understand the difficulty of coming up with $7 trillion in savings or revenue in order to balance the budget in 10 years. We all know that our current situation is unsustainable. We must do better. I look forward to hearing more about how the President’s budget will help improve the accountability of the federal government and will strongly support efforts to improve and eliminate government programs not delivering results.”

Enzi noted that the nation is in the worst fiscal shape since World War II and if things do not change, America will add another $10 trillion to our debt within 10 years.  He said the country’s automatic spending on mandatory programs continues to grow unchecked. In 1967, it represented just 32 percent of the budget, but in 2017 it represents more than 69 percent.  By 2027, it will represent more than 77 percent of total spending.

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