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

4 months ago

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.

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

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