Back in April, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released regular budget outlook for the current year and 2019 through 2028 budget window. The report was concerning because it showed that the share of the debt held by the public as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) would increase from 78 percent in 2018 to 96.2 percent in 2028.

As Congress approaches the debt ceiling debate, conservatives in both chambers should look for outside-the-box approaches to address federal spending. It's simply not enough to make cuts to nondefense discretionary spending, which, over the next ten years, represents less than 13 percent of all federal outlays. Mandatory spending, or direct spending, however, represents nearly 65 percent of outlays and is what is largely driving deficits higher.