Time to break the cycle of debt

Anyone who has opened the paper recently has been confronted by some pretty grizzly numbers about our nation's deficit and debt. Last year, the budget deficit was a record $1.4 trillion. New projections released last week show that this year's deficit will be almost as bad, $1.35 trillion. Missourians are worried about our deficit and debt, and they should be. I am too.

Ten years ago, our nation enjoyed a budget surplus. But over the last decade, Congress lost its way, and our surplus has been replaced with a crippling deficit.

Missourians are fiercely independent people, and in our state it's not unusual for me to hear from people on every side of every issue. People in Missouri are in agreement on one issue, though: It's time for the folks in Washington to stop jeopardizing our country's future by running up the balance on its credit card. Although I've been commuting to work in Washington for three years now, Missouri is my home, and I know that is not how we do things in the Show-Me State. It's time to stop kicking the can down the road and own up to the challenges our country is facing. Real budget reform can't wait any longer.

That's why I chose to do what many in Washington are scared to do: reach across the aisle and form a partnership with a Republican colleague who frequently has a different perspective. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and I don't agree on everything, but we are in agreement that our country needs to slow down spending. That's why we have introduced legislation that will force Congress to show some restraint by placing hard caps on discretionary spending. Discretionary spending only makes up one-third of the federal budget, and is not the part that is growing the fastest. However, if we are ever going to get serious about the deficit, Congress will have to tighten its own belt.

I'm sure there are many in the halls of Congress who will balk at the idea of cutting back. After all, earmarking is a favorite pastime of most senators and representatives. But the truth is that these spending limits are not a new idea. In fact, discretionary spending caps were one of the reforms made in the 1990s that helped achieve budget surpluses. Unfortunately, those reforms were allowed to expire in 2002 by the Republican-controlled Congress and President Bush, and the consequences have been severe.

I pride myself on being up front with my constituents, so it's important to point out that this legislation alone won't solve our huge fiscal problems. I'm working on a several other measures that will also help get our fiscal house in order. I introduced pay-as-you-go legislation that would require Congress to find a way to pay for any proposed new spending. And I've joined with a bipartisan group of senators to create a fiscal task force. The fiscal task force would be responsible for making recommendations on long-term strategies for reducing our nation's deficit and would force members of Congress to make the hard decisions necessary to deal with this crisis.

Nearly all Missourians have faced challenges due to this economic recession, and most are trying to tighten their belts and find ways to stretch their dollars. It's about time the federal government did the same.

Claire McCaskill represents Missouri in the U.S. Senate.