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.
In February, Congress passed the Bipartisan Budget Act, H.R. 1892, which busted the discretionary spending caps by nearly $300 billion over two years, increasing them to $1.291 trillion for FY 2018 and $1.321 trillion for FY 2019. The budget passed the Senate by a vote of 71 to 28 and the House by a vote of 240 to 186. Sixteen Republicans voted against the budget in the Senate and 67 in the House.
The alarm is sounding once again on federal spending, and few in Congress are paying attention serious problems that America faces if it doesn’t get the nation’s finances into order.
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) told reporters earlier today that the government spending bill will be released late Tuesday evening, likely right before midnight. The House will vote on Thursday. The Senate will follow. As long as the bill isn't amended, the bill will subsequently go to the president's desk. But the process has cast a dark cloud for this spending bill. And the $1.3 trillion at which Congress will appropriate is also a reminder of a bad budget deal Congress recently passed.