Bipartisan bill would force Congress to consider debt payments before approving new spending

Bipartisan bill would force Congress to consider debt payments before approving new spending

Washington Times

Alex Miller | February 5, 2025

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers want to start whittling away at the nation’s debt, and they say more transparency in federal spending is the way to do it.

Led by Rep. Michael Cloud, Texas Republican, the lawmakers plan to introduce legislation Wednesday that would force Congress to consider interest payments on the nation’s debt before approving any new spending.

“Interest payments on our national debt have now surpassed $1 trillion for the first time — outpacing even our entire defense budget,” Mr. Cloud said. “This staggering reality is a direct consequence of Washington’s reckless spending. Yet, Congress routinely passes legislation without accounting for the full cost, misleading taxpayers about the financial burden being placed on future generations.”

The bill, called the Cost Estimates Improvement Act, would effectively make lawmakers think twice about the money they’re spending.

Mr. Cloud’s measure would amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to include a requirement that any estimate prepared by the Congressional Budget Office or the Joint Committee on Taxation include the full costs of interest payments to the nation’s debt that stem from the spending legislation.

The measure, which was previously introduced during the last Congress, comes as the nation’s debt topped $36 trillion, and debt-hawk Republicans are pressuring House Speaker Mike Johnson to include steep spending cuts in a colossal package of much of President Trump’s legislative agenda.

Republicans appear to be at an impasse about how to approach Washington’s spending addiction while negotiating that package, which is set to include an extension to the president’s 2017 tax cuts that would add billions to the deficit.

Congress is also set to deal with an impending March 14 deadline to fund the government and prevent a partial government shutdown while also providing disaster aid to California and raising the nation’s debt ceiling, all things that will add to the deficit.

Mr. Cloud is joined in sponsoring the legislation by fellow Republican Reps. Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania, Tom McClintock of California and Democratic Reps. Jared Golden of Maine, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington and Ed Case of Hawaii.

“Interest payments on the national debt are a massive expenditure, and Congress needs to be fully informed of those long-term costs if we want to be truly fiscally responsible,” Mr. Golden said. “Requiring estimates on the interest costs of legislation is a simple way to facilitate better budgeting.”

A slate of outside groups support the bill, including Americans for Prosperity, Bipartisan Policy Center Action, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, Heritage Action and the National Taxpayers Union.

“With interest payments being one of the largest and fastest-growing parts of the budget, lawmakers need to understand how legislation would impact interest costs,” said Paul Winfree of the Economic Policy Innovation Center. “Rep. Michael Cloud’s Cost Estimates Improvement Act would be an important step towards improving transparency.”