Peterson Statement on Senate Infrastructure Bill and CBO Score

NEW YORK — Michael A. Peterson, CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, commented today as bipartisan infrastructure legislation advanced to a final vote in the U.S. Senate, and following the release of the Congressional Budget Office analysis of the deficit effects of the bill:
“This bill has been formed through constructive, bipartisan policymaking and includes important investments in our economy, but it falls short of being fiscally balanced. While it is commendable that there has been a serious effort to pay for new spending, CBO’s analysis shows how the bill is not fully offset. Looking forward, lawmakers should take additional time to engage on the many well-known options they have to strengthen the bill and fully pay for their priorities. With $13 trillion of borrowing already coming over the next ten years, we should not be handing more debt to the next generation.”
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Further Reading
The Federal Government Has Borrowed Trillions. Who Owns All that Debt?
Most federal debt is owed to domestic holders, but foreign ownership is much higher now than it was about 50 years ago.
No Tax on Social Security Would Weaken Both Social Security and Medicare
Republicans in Congress are considering several new tax cuts that would reduce federal revenues by trillions of dollars over the next decade.
The United States Spends More on Defense than the Next 9 Countries Combined
Defense spending by the United States accounted for nearly 40 percent of military expenditures by countries around the world in 2023.