EDITOR'S NOTE: The three Republican candidates seeking the party's nomination for Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District visited the Univest Public Public Media Center for one-on-one interviews with LehighValleyNews.com. The conversations are the basis of a five-part series this week focusing on policy issues ahead of the April 23 primary election. U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, who is unchallenged in the Democratic primary, declined to participate.
Today's issue: The federal budget (Fourth of five parts)
Part I: Reproductive rights
Part II: Foreign affairs
Part III: The economy
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Republicans across the country have spent much of the past three years criticizing President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats for massive spending bills that have contributed to the national debt.
So LehighValleyNews.com asked the three Republicans running for Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District what they would do if elected to address the country's structural deficit.
The resulting conversations with Kevin Dellicker, an economic adviser to former Gov. Tom Ridge; state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh; and Maria Montero, a member of former Gov. Tom Corbett's administration, delved into cutting spending, balanced budget amendments and tariffs.
Background
At the close of fiscal year 2023, the U.S. government's debt reached $34.4 trillion. It's about 124% of the America's GDP and approximately double what the national debt was in 2014.
At the close of fiscal year 2023, the U.S. government's debt reached $34.4 trillion. About 13% of the 2024 budget is dedicated to paying off interest on loans.
About 13% of the 2024 budget is dedicated to paying off interest on loans. By comparison, 14% of spending goes toward defense spending and 22% goes toward Social Security. The higher interest rates the Federal Reserve has used to fight inflation are simultaneously making it more expensive to pay off the country's loans.
The U.S. Treasury's website shows deficit spending reached record highs in fiscal years 2020 (under President Donald Trump) and 2021 (split between Trump and Biden) as the government responded to the pandemic. While deficit spending fell to $1.7 trillion last year, it's still growing the already record debt. Some economists warn that years of deficit spending like this will endanger entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare.
The U.S. government last ran a surplus between 1998 and 2001 due to tax hikes approved by Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton and and spending cuts from congressional leaders. Before that, the U.S. had not had a surplus since President Lyndon B. Johnson held office.
What they said
All three candidates agreed that federal spending has become a problem and must be reined in. Mackenzie and Montero said that Congress should not raise taxes to address the structural deficit. In addition, Montero and Dellicker expressed support for a balanced budget amendment.
Montero said the best thing Congress can do is promote a strong economy with high-paying jobs. As an example, she said the federal government should be doing more to support the natural gas industry, which has a large presence in Pennsylvania.
Instead, the Biden administration placed a moratorium on liquified natural gas exports. Republicans in Congress tried to override the decision but were thwarted by Democrats; U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, D-Lehigh Valley, opposed repealing the moratorium, Montero noted.
"If people are more prosperous, more people are working, that means that we have an increase of tax revenue," she said.
Mackenzie said the federal government needs to be more disciplined. Between funding wars over the past 20 years and massive supplemental funding bills, Congress has burned through trillions of dollars.
If Congress is more careful in its spending, he said, it should be able to protect entitlement programs. He was the only candidate to specifically say Congress needs to protect Social Security and Medicare.
"Those are programs that we have made commitments to our seniors for. They have paid into those programs. There should not be changes to those programs," he said.
Mackenzie pointed to his own record in Harrisburg, saying he and other state lawmakers have worked hard to improve the state's financial standing over his 12 years in office. The state spent much of the past decade with little cash in reserve, but the state currently has a $14 billion surplus.
While some of the surplus has been due to higher than anticipated tax revenue, the state has also benefited from stimulus funds passed by Congress during the pandemic.
The General Assembly has begun debating Gov. Josh Shapiro's proposed budget, which would lead to deficit spending if passed as proposed. Mackenzie and other Republicans have said Pennsylvania cannot afford to burn through its Rainy Day Fund immediately after restoring it.
Dellicker didn't propose a direct tax on Americans but said Congress should increase federal revenue through tariffs on China. Dellicker described the Chinese Communist Party as America's most formidable threat and enemy. Taxing their imports would simultaneously promote American farmers and manufacturers while adding money to the federal government's coffers, he said.
Trump raised tariffs on all steel and aluminum with most U.S. trade partners andkicked off a broader trade war against China. The Biden administration has left most of the tariffs against China in place.
As for cutting spending, Dellicker was the only candidate who said Congress may need to examine spending on entitlement programs. However, he said Congress should first recoup money from wasteful programs.
As an example, he pointed to the CHIPs and Science Act, a bipartisan law that invested $280 billion for expanding science and technology operations in the United States. The law was intended to bring important manufacturing jobs back to the United States, such as building semiconductors. But the only improvements coming to the Lehigh Valley so far are the expansion of an existing Palmer Township facility, which Dellicker referred to as a warehouse.
"It's a perfect example of wasteful spending," Dellicker said. "It's just one of the things that we can do to try to make government more effective and stop wasting our money on all these pet projects that are really socialism in disguise."
TOMORROW: The candidates discuss the border
Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District represents all of Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties plus a sliver of Monroe County. It is among the most competitive districts in the nation, with near equal numbers of registered Democratic and Republican voters. The House has been narrowly divided in recent years, making control of PA-7 crucial to the parties' efforts to hold a majority.
