Byrne: Out of control mandatory spending has put the American Dream in jeopardy

(Video Above: Congressman Bradley Byrne details the ways the government’s out of control spending is harming future generations)

WASHINGTON — With a current national debt of around $18.3 trillion and climbing, The United States’ budget crisis is no secret. But the perceptions that many have about government spending, and how it might be reined in, might be off. In a Tuesday speech on the House floor, U.S. Rep Bradley Byrne (R-AL1) pointed out that the majority of government spending currently has no means of control.

“The basis of the American dream is that if you work hard, you can leave behind a better future for your children and grandchildren. That fundamentally American vision is in jeopardy due in part to our irresponsible spending,” he said.

The reason Byrne believes that the American dream is in jeopardy is because of mandatory spending. Two-thirds of federal spending each year is on autopilot, meaning that as citizens qualify for certain programs (Medicaid, Medicare, TANF, Obamacare) spending goes up without express Congressional appropriation.

“The good thing about discretionary spending is that each year Congress has the ability to control these spending levels through the appropriations process,” Byrne said. “Since Republicans took control of the House in 2010, we have had some success in cutting funding to various federal agencies. For example, agencies like the IRS and EPA have seen their budgets cut in response to egregious executive overreach.

Unlike its discretionary counterpart, mandatory spending requires wholesale reform to reign in. “We need to reform these means based entitlement programs to put a real focus on workforce training to help connect Americans with the skills they need to get a good paying job that meets workforce demands,” Byrne added.

The congressman recommended reform of means-tested government programs with “a real focus on workforce training to help connect Americans with the skills they need to get a good paying job that meets workforce demands.”

Byrne quantified his concern with the growing national debt by using his young grandson as an example. “My grandson, MacGuire, is about to turn one and already his share of the national debt – before his first birthday – is over $40,000.”

“We won’t be able to make any real progress toward that goal without serious reforms to these means based entitlement programs. That is what is driving our debt, and we cannot keep looking the other way as the national debt skyrockets,” he concluded.

Entitlement reform has been an issue of contentious debate, even among Congressional Republicans. As of now, there is no broad consensus in Congress on how or when the problem of mandatory spending driven by means-tested programs can be fixed.

Representative Byrne’s floor speech can be seen in its entirety in the video above.