‘We Can’t Keep Making Cowardly Decisions’: Joe Manchin Blasts ‘Unmanaged’ National Debt

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During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing prior to the Congressional recess, Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV) spoke about the appropriations process and the national debt.

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Transcript
00:00Chairman Murray and Ranking Member Collins, I want to thank you all for your leadership
00:05again this year.
00:08Appropriation process through the regular order again, and I think it's commendable
00:12that you all work so hard on your staff, so I really appreciate working, my staff appreciate
00:16working with all of you.
00:18As you know, I've long called for the return of regular order to pass our Appropriations
00:21Bill on time.
00:22Our reliance on continuing resolutions, CRs, unnecessarily cost billions of dollars, only
00:27adding to the deficit as we talk to all the agencies and departments.
00:32I was pleased that the Fiscal Responsibility Act included incentives to return to regular
00:36order, as well as top lines that are roughly consistent with my call to cast spending at
00:411% each year.
00:42And I appreciate that the three bills before us align with those top lines.
00:47I want to applaud the Subcommittee Chairs and Ranking Members and the three subcommittee
00:50bills before us, including Senator Heinrich Hoeven, Sinema, Rosemond, Reed, Fisher for
00:55working in a bipartisan manner to achieve this.
00:59However, it became clear last year the details of the debt limit deal were made intentionally
01:03murky, including a number of handshakes, side agreements, and that I hope will not repeat
01:07this year, and I'm sure they won't.
01:09West Virginians want us to do our jobs and be honest with them, not to play part of politics
01:13with the national debt.
01:14As of this morning, as of this morning, the national debt was a staggering $34.8 trillion.
01:21That's almost $3 trillion more than this committee met the last time last year to kick
01:26off the fiscal year 2024.
01:29Our national debt was $14.1 trillion in February 2011.
01:33In the time since, we have added more than $20 trillion to that total with bipartisan
01:37enthusiasm.
01:39That's over $94,000 for every American.
01:42Never in the history of our nation have we so quickly amassed so much debt, and several
01:47presidents in both parties play a major role in getting us to this position.
01:52The best way that we can avoid CRs is to allow the annual appropriations process to move
01:55forward, and for that reason, I support 302B as we have top-line spending levels before
02:02the committee today that are consistent with the bipartisan debt ceiling goal.
02:07My grandfather liked to say, unmanaged debt will lead you to make cowardly decisions.
02:12We can't keep making cowardly decisions.
02:16Thank you, Madam President.

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