Horn wants national debt addressed in next coronavirus relief bill

Oklahoma Congresswoman Kendra Horn is part of a bipartisan group of 60 U.S. Representatives who have sent a letter to House leadership urging that a strategy for coping with the growing national debt be included in the next coronavirus relief bill.

“Any COVID-19 relief package that is brought before Congress needs to meet the three T’s of good government: it needs to be timely, targeted and transparent,” Horn, D-Oklahoma City, said in a news release. “We need action to help reignite our nation’s economy and protect the health of our communities, but we cannot ignore the important issue of our national debt. We need bipartisan action that will build a strong foundation for our nation’s fiscal future even as we navigate this crisis.”

The 60 House members who signed the letter were evenly split between Republicans and Democrats.

Congress has passed four relief bills in response to the pandemic, putting the U.S. on track for a nearly $4 trillion federal deficit this year.

The letter notes that debt held by the public is likely to exceed 100 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product in just a few months.

"Trust funds for Social Security, Disability Insurance, Medicare Hospital Insurance, and Highway programs face insolvency, now possibly all within a decade," the letter states. "Though emergency borrowing is necessary now, we must have a credible plan for responsibility to bring the debt burden to sustainable levels as the pandemic recedes and the economy recovers."

The coalition of lawmakers said they support a process for establishing overall budgetary goals, such as debt-to-GDP targets.

"We must confront the economic fallout from this crisis head on," the coalition stated. "As the crisis recedes and our nation recovers, we cannot ignore the pressing issue of the national debt, which could do irreparable damage to our country."