NE Valley Times

U.S. Representative David Schweikert of Arizona delivered his first speech on the House floor for the 119th Congress, addressing the issue of government borrowing. Schweikert used a thought experiment to compare popular solutions to reduce government debt with the actual time saved in borrowing.

In his speech, Schweikert illustrated that cutting all salaries from the Department of Education, amounting to $2.75 billion annually, would save only nine hours of borrowing. He highlighted concerns about rising interest rates, stating that if U.S. sovereign debt reaches a 5 percent interest rate, "the debt expectation goes from a $13 trillion – $14 trillion current interest rate to $22.7 trillion over the next 10 years."

Schweikert emphasized the impact of demographic changes and healthcare costs on national debt: "almost 100 percent of the debt in the next ten years is interest and Medicare." He pointed out that baby boomers are moving into their earned benefits without enough younger people to support them financially.

The congressman discussed suggested budget cuts and their limited effect on reducing borrowing time. Eliminating congressional salaries would save only 6.4 hours of annual borrowing time, while stopping health care subsidies for undocumented migrants would save nine hours per year.

Schweikert also warned about potential fiscal consequences if policy changes are not handled properly: "The debt markets [will] demand a premium; you see what’s going on around the world." He cited recent events in countries like Great Britain and France as examples where governments faced challenges due to fiscal constraints.