Alexander Hamilton once said, “A national debt, if it is not excessive, will be to us a national blessing.” Since the United States fought for its freedom we have only been free of a national debt for two years, 1834 and 1835. Clearly, deficits are nothing new in Washington and it is not a one-party disease. However, the key to Mr. Hamilton’s famous statement is, “if not excessive.”

Unfortunately, the United States has reached the point where our national debt has become excessive. Today, every American’s share of the National Debt is $36,000. Based on President Obama’s budget, by the end of his first term in office, every American will owe more than $54,000.

A further example of the excessive deficit spending occurring in Washington is Debt Day. Debt Day is the day the federal government runs out of revenue and starts paying for its reckless spending by borrowing more money. This year, debt day has come and gone already: April 26. Imagine putting more than seven months of your family’s expenses on a credit card? You would be paying an astronomical amount of interest. Sadly, this is what the federal government does and in just three short years, the American people will be paying $1 billion per day in interest on that debt.

The American people know that we cannot borrow and spend our way back to economic prosperity. The path to economic recovery starts with fiscal responsibility. The federal government must follow the example set by our nation’s families and eliminate unneeded and excessive spending.

Thank you,

Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite