When does the U.S. national debt matter?

 

Hmmm. Apparently not when Republicans are in charge.

 

Consider this: Back in 2012 as the national debt passed $16 trillion, Sen. Lindsey Graham posted, “I stand ready to do the hard things – entitlement reform, reducing spending, and reforming our tax code – which will turn our economy and debt situation around.”

 

Earlier this month, as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and with Donald Trump as president, Sen. Graham chose not to do the hard things.

 

The Senate wants to ignore the Byrd rule that requires reconciliation bills to be revenue neutral. To facilitate that, Graham will pretend that maintaining Trump’s 2017 tax cuts will not add to the deficit. He also supports increasing the debt ceiling so the now $36 trillion national debt can grow to $41 trillion.

 

“As Budget Chairman, under section 312 of the Congressional Budget Act, I have the authority to determine baseline numbers for spending and revenue. Under that authority, I have determined that current policy will be the budget baseline regarding taxation. This will allow the tax cuts to be permanent,” he said in a statement.

 

Without Graham’s maneuver, maintaining the tax cuts would require over $4 trillion in budget cuts to be revenue neutral. The Senate only wants to cut around $4 billion (billion not trillion). The House at least wants to cut $1.5 trillion. But neither supports balancing tax cut costs with spending cuts, i.e., they support growing the national debt under Trump.

 

“This resolution is the first step toward a final bill to make permanent the tax relief we implemented in 2017 and deliver a transformational investment in our border, national, and energy security,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune in supporting Graham’s proposal. He made no mention of the national debt.

 

Then there is this: Sens. Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith have supported debt ceiling increases under Trump but opposed them under Democratic presidents.

 

In 2010, 2012, 2021 and 2023 under Obama and Biden, Sen. Wicker opposed increasing the debt ceiling. “We must stop spending money we do not have,” he said in a statement. In 2018, 2019, and now with Trump as president, he supported debt ceiling increases.

 

In 2021 and 2023 under Biden, Sen. Hyde-Smith voted against increases. “I’m holding fast to that commitment not to vote to increase the debt ceiling,” she said in 2021. In 2019 and now with Trump as president, she voted for increases.

 

Republicans regularly claim debt is destroying America, then do little about it when they have the power. Remember, it was Republicans who ditched the extraordinary Simpson-Bowles bipartisan deficit reduction plan in 2010.

 

Crawford is the author of “A Republican’s Lament: Mississippi Needs Good Government Conservatives.”