(CNS News.com) -- When asked whether President Joe Biden would ever balance the federal budget, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) said, “Oh, absolutely not.”
At the Capitol on Wednesday, CNSNews.com asked Sen. Shelby, “The federal government ran a $2.7-trillion deficit in fiscal 2021 and has a $475-billion deficit so far this year. Will President Biden ever balance the budget?”
The senator said, “Oh, absolutely not. You know, if you go back to it, it’s entitlements that’s going to break the country. We created these programs, people like them, they have—some of them have a lot of utility, but they’re not paid for, and we continue to borrow money to—it’s 2/3 of our budget automatic.”
“So, could we balance the budget?” he said. “Only if we -- if we only had discretionary spending, yes, we could. But will we do it with entitlements running ahead? No. It won’t happen.”
“Sadly,” Sen. Shelby added, “Let me say, sadly it won’t happen. Is that okay?”
According to a table published by the U.S. Department of the Treasury in the Monthly Treasure Statement, the deficit of the U.S. government for fiscal year 2021 (Oct. 1, 2020 -- Sept. 30, 2021) was $2.775 trillion.
And in fiscal year 2022 (Oct. 1, 2021 – Sept. 30, 2022), so far, the federal deficit is $475 billion.
In addition, data from the Fiscal Data Treasury shows that the United States’ total debt, as of March 14, 2022, is $30.19 trillion.
President Biden’s budget plans for FY2022 include the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan. The jobs plan allegedly would create millions of jobs for Americans. This plan focuses on infrastructure, delivering clean water, and a renewed electrical grid, revitalizing manufacturing, as well as other goals.
The American Families Plan allegedly will help families financially and will include additional four years of “free education” for children in preschool (and also two years of community college); provide direct support to children and families, extend tax cuts for families with children and American workers, strengthen health care, along with other goals stated in the plan.
As claimed in the Fact Sheet for Biden’s budget for FY2022, “Over time, the savings from these reforms will exceed the cost of the investments, and by large and growing amounts. The American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan together are paid for over 15 years. And the full set of proposals in the president’s budget reduce the annual deficit by the end of the ten-year budget window and every year thereafter. In the second decade, the president’s budget proposals cut deficits by over $2 trillion.”
According to the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), using a Penn Wharton Budgeting Model, the American Jobs Plan “would actually stifle U.S. economic growth and kill American jobs.”