29 May 2023 BPC Action Urges Congress to Pass Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in Economics and Finance

BPC Action is relieved and pleased to see President Biden, Speaker McCarthy, and their designees negotiate in good faith over the past few weeks to reach a weekend compromise in the face of one of Washington’s thorniest issues: the debt limit. With just days before the U.S. government could default on its obligations, we strongly urge Congress to pass the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 without delay.  

This legislation also serves as a reminder that it is still possible for both parties to come together around sensible deficit reduction legislation. Beyond ensuring the U.S. lives up to its commitments by suspending the debt limit through 2024, the agreement will place non-defense discretionary spending on a more fiscally responsible trajectory. Although we favor some provisions in the package more than others, this bill represents sound economic and budgetary policy, and we urge Congress to take the next immediate step by swiftly passing the agreement.  

Moving forward, policymakers must build on this bipartisan compromise to address three key challenges:

1. While the bill includes important aspects of permitting reform that are consistent with recommendations from the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Smarter, Cleaner, Faster Infrastructure Task Force, advancing comprehensive permitting reform should be a legislative priority for the second half of this year as the President and Speaker have committed to.

2. Fiscally responsible legislation like the Fiscal Responsibility Act should be the rule, not the exception, in Congress. As our $31.4 trillion national debt continues to balloon, there’s clearly more work to be done.

3. Debt limit debates routinely prove costly—both to federal taxpayers and America’s global reputation. We must stop playing this dangerous game, ditch the brinkmanship, and replace it with more meaningful deliberation and debate around our unsustainable debt.

• The bipartisan Responsible Budgeting Act, introduced last Congress, would accomplish this goal by reforming the debt limit process to take the risk of default off the table while ensuring regular consideration of measures to reduce our debt, and we encourage Congress to take up this legislation.

BPC Action urges all members of Congress to move the Fiscal Responsibility Act forward to avoid the imminent risk of economic catastrophe.