Media Buzz: Committee Holds First in a Series of Hearings on the Impact of the National Debt

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Media Buzz: Committee Holds First in a Series of Hearings on the Impact of the National Debt

Washington, Mar 26 -

On Tuesday, the Financial Services Committee held a hearing on the threat posed by America’s rising national debt. Tuesday’s hearing was the first in a series of hearings the committee has planned to focus attention on the harmful impact the debt has on economic growth, jobs, national security, and the federal government’s ability to fund discretionary spending and entitlement programs.

Washington Free Beacon: Experts to Congress: Get Serious About the Debt

“A group of bipartisan experts testified before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday warning that Congress must act to address the coming debt crisis. The House held the first in a series of hearings on ‘Why Debt Matters,’ to identify solutions to a national debt that currently stands at $17.548 trillion, or roughly $55,000 per American." “’Make no mistake: this debt crisis is a spending crisis,’ said Rep. Randy Hultgren (R., Ill.). ‘I have four children and I refuse to stand by while Congress sacrifices their future, and that of my constituents, because it didn’t address our spending addiction or place our entitlement system on a sustainable footing.’”

The Daily Caller: Why Does the U.S. National Debt Matter?

“House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling elaborated on the gravity of the country’s spending habits during opening remarks before the committee. He noted that, ‘In the last six years we accumulated more national debt than our nation did in its first 200 years.’ Hensarling asked, ‘Will our nation as a whole ever face a debt crisis comparable to Detroit or Greece? I do not think so, but I do not know so.’”

HousingWire: Hensarling: "We Are Headed for a Debt Crisis"

“The nation is headed on a destructive path to an overwhelming pile of national debt, Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-TX, said during the first hearing in a series planned to focus attention on the impact of the nation’s debt on the economy. ‘We’ve had many sobering warnings that our nation is headed for a crisis,’ Hensarling emphasized. He quoted economics writer Robert Samuelson saying that the nation’s problem to deal with the problem would trigger an economic and political and death spiral."

MNI News: US House Financial Services Chief Seeks Hill Focus On Deficits

"House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling launched Tuesday the first of a series of hearings on deficits and debt, arguing that while the issue has faded from the congressional agenda, it requires aggressive action. ‘Unfortunately, as deficits have temporarily receded, the urgency among some policymakers to avert the oncoming spending-driven debt crisis has fallen…Alice Rivlin, former White House budget director and Federal Reserve Board Vice Chair, told the panel she is troubled that budget deficits have ‘suddenly disappeared from the legislative radar screen.’”