Exploding U.S. deficit, debt demands action in Congress

Seven months ago, U.S. Sen. George V. Voinovich, R-Ohio, launched a legislative initiative to simplify the federal tax code and ensure that entitlement programs were solvent.
Republicans had control of Congress then, but "Securing America's Future Economy [SAFE] Commission Act" did not become law. This, despite the fact, that a companion measure was introduced in the House by Rep. Frank R. Wolf, R-Va.
Given the no-holds-barred spending under GOP management of the budget, it comes as no surprise that SAFE was not put on a fast track.
Consider these hair-raising statistics from Voinovich's office: The budget deficit for 2006 was 248 billion -- 434 billion if money borrowed from the Social Security Trust Fund is included; the national debt has increased from 5.6 trillion in 2000 to 8.6 trillion today -- 29,000 of debt for every American; 40 years ago, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid accounted for 3 percent of Gross Domestic Product, while today they account for 9 percent.
"America's fiscal situation is dire," Voinovich said this week. "Nothing can be off the table if we want to ensure our long-term prosperity and increase our competitiveness in the global marketplace. Especially important is the tackling of fundamental tax reform. The task is daunting, but now is the time to act. I am thinking not only about the present, but about our children and grandchildren and the legacy -- or burden -- we will leave them."
Why did the senator comment about the SAFE initiative this week? Because he and Rep. Wolf have reintroduced their bills in the Senate and the House.
Democratic control
However, what is different this time is that Democrats are now in control of Congress and have pledged to move quickly to address the ballooning budget deficit and the national debt.
Democratic leaders have talked about spending reductions, while at the same time revisiting President Bush's tax cuts for the very rich.
Republican Voinovich has been one of the more vocal members of Congress when it comes to the Bush administration's fiscal policies. In fact, last year he voted against the repeal of the estate tax -- he called it "irresponsible" -- and he voted against a bill that extended the president's tax cuts for capital gains and dividends for two years.
The senator attracted national press attention when he broke ranks with his party, but he gave three reasons for his action: the country does not need tax cuts; it cannot afford tax cuts; and, Congress should be working on tax reform rather than enacting tax cuts in a piecemeal fashion.
If the bills he and Rep. Wolf have introduced become law, a national commission made up of 15 voting members will examine the tax code and entitlement programs and develop long-term solutions. The goal is to place the nation in a fiscally sustainable course and ensure that entitlement programs are in place for future generations.
To find out what Americans are thinking, the bills require the commission to hold town hall meetings throughout the nation.
As we said in an editorial last year when we hailed the Voinovich-Wolf initiative, one of the meetings should be held in the Mahoning Valley, which has found out the hard way the effect national policies can have on local economies.