Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo dishes on national debt debate

Although the $19 trillion national debt is now larger than the entire U.S. economy, Sen. Mike Crapo said some members of Congress still question whether the country is facing a debt crisis.

Speaking to the Lewiston Rotary Club Wednesday, Crapo, R-Idaho, said the debate stems in part from a deceptive analysis of annual federal budget deficits.

“Those who say we don’t have a debt problem note, correctly, that annual deficits have dropped 60 to 70 percent since 2009,” he said. “But what they don’t point out is that (in the two years prior to that) deficits went up 800 percent. They also don’t point out that the annual deficit is still about $400 billion, which is too much.”

Moreover, the Congressional Budget Office projects that annual deficits will increase to about $1.35 trillion within 10 years under current law, adding another $10 trillion to the total debt level during that time.

If something’s not done to reverse this trend, Crapo said, interest costs will become the federal government’s third-largest expense by 2023, surpassing all defense or non-defense discretionary spending. Interest costs are growing three times faster than the economy as a whole.

“I think the national debt is the greatest threat facing the country,” he said. “It threatens everything in the federal system — Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, education, national security.”

This ongoing disagreement over spending and debt levels has resulted in several government shutdown threats in recent years, and Crapo predicted that will once again be the case this fall.

Congress has yet to pass a single appropriations bill for 2017, even though the fiscal year ends Sept. 30.

What lawmakers will most likely do, Crapo predicted, is pass a short-term “continuing resolution” to keep the government running until after the election. Then they’ll try to decide whether to approve another continuing resolution “and punt the entire budget issue into the next Congress.” Alternatively, an all-encompassing “omnibus” budget deal could be negotiated behind closed doors, which is what happened last fall.

If Congress can’t muster the votes for either of these options, a government shutdown would result.

The basic disagreement this year involves about $20 billion to $40 billion, Crapo said.

“There are many members of Congress — and I’m one of them — who believe we’ve seriously underfunded national security,” he said. “We’re trying to build in a little boost in the budget. We want about $18 (billion) to $20 billion more for defense. (Democrats) are willing to accept that, but only if we increase non-defense spending by a similar amount. Then we’re talking $40 billion instead of $20 billion. If we do that, it blows us off our fiscal path.”

Crapo didn’t mention it, but a third faction isn’t willing to accept any spending increases, unless they’re offset by cuts elsewhere in the budget.

“I’m sorry to talk to you about all this negative stuff, but this is something America needs to grapple with,” he said.

Prior to the Rotary luncheon, Crapo met with veterans in his Lewiston office. After the luncheon he went to Ferdinand for a town hall meeting. That was the 181st town hall he’s held since the beginning of 2015; he plans to hold meetings in all 200 incorporated towns in Idaho.

———

Spence may be contacted at bspence@lmtribune.com or (208) 791-9168.