Andy Biggs: “I thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cline), for his comments and his efforts and his willingness to stand on this…”

“I thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cline), for his comments and his efforts and his willingness to stand on this important issue and recognizing--and promising to people and responding to that promise; because I can tell you, when I first considered even running for Congress, one of the things that motivated me was this horrific debt, which I have watched explode even more since I got here; not because I am here, but in spite of my efforts. So, today, we are preparing to introduce our resolution, which will be later this week, Senator Perdue, his cosponsors, my 50 original cosponsors--more than 50 original cosponsors. And we recognize that, as of today, the national debt is more than $22 trillion. You have heard that. Can you hear it enough without taking action? The resulting total interest expense for the fiscal year 2019 is $192 billion. $192 billion. Interest does not sleep. It doesn't take a holiday; it doesn't take a vacation. Interest accumulates without ceasing until you pay your debt. Our national debt as a percentage of GDP is 104 percent. The last time a Federal budget was balanced and was signed was 1997. Our total Federal tax receipts for fiscal year 2018 were $3.329 trillion. But somehow--and we all know how--our Federal outlays totaled $4.1 trillion, with a deficit of $780 billion. And we know how. We know how that happened. We look to each other in this body.…”