(The Center Square) – Three North Carolinians are among the Republican, Democrat and independent members of Congress named Fiscal Heroes by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
Republican Reps. Chuck Edwards, Virginia Foxx and Patrick McHenry were among the 60 honored from the 118th Congress. Thirty-four Republicans, 22 Democrats and two independents are still at work while the list also included two who have exited early, former Reps. Mike Gallagher and Kevin McCarthy.
The award, its website says, recognizes “policymakers working to improve the nation’s fiscal situation and fix the budget process. Fiscal Heroes have distinguished themselves by pushing their party leaders to make debt a priority, leading bipartisan efforts to work through policy options to fix the debt and the budget process, taking responsible votes, participating in fiscally focused events, using their town hall meetings to engage and educate constituents, delivering floor speeches to raise awareness about the issue, advocating to keep tough choices on the table and introducing legislation to improve the budget process and the nation’s fiscal position.”
The Congressional Budget Office in March projected the nation’s deficit will reach 8.5% of gross domestic product in 30 years. Inflation was 3.5% in March (April figures are released May 15), having climbed each of the last two months. It was 1.4% when the Biden administration took office.
Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and head of Fix the Debt, said, “Our debt is skyrocketing, interest costs are surging, major trust funds are approaching insolvency, and the national debt is threatening our national security – there has never been a more important moment for policymakers to step up and lead on fiscal issues.
“Leading on fiscal responsibility isn’t easy, especially when compared to the reckless but politically expedient choice to pass on more debt to the next generation. We applaud the Fiscal Heroes for their hard work and encourage more members of Congress to follow in their footsteps.”
In November 2023, Moody’s Investors Service gave the federal government a negative credit outlook citing large deficits, high interest rates and waning political interest in addressing the nation’s deficit. The other two credit-rating agencies, S&P Global and Fitch, grade U.S. credit at AA+. In August 2023, Fitch Ratings decided to downgrade the government’s credit rating from the highest level of AAA down one tier to AA+.
