Latest news with #Schweikert
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
High US debt will let bond market ‘run the country': GOP congressman
Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) said Wednesday that the growing U.S. national debt will make the government more vulnerable to being pressured by the bond market, allowing it to effectively 'run the country.' 'Look, we're on the cusp of deciding that the world debt markets will run the country. I mean, let's be brutally honest. I don't think the equity markets are as good a tell,' Schweikert, who sits on the House Ways and Means Committee, said during The Hill's 'Invest in America' event Wednesday. 'It's bond markets and debt markets,' he added. In recent weeks, some business leaders have expressed similar concerns, stating that the government's budget deficits and rising debt are issues that will rattle bond markets down the line. 'It's a big deal, you know it is a real problem, but one day … the bond markets are going to have a tough time. I don't know if it's six months or six years,' JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said during a Monday interview with Fox Business Network's 'Mornings with Maria.' 'The real focus should be growth, probusiness, proper deregulation, permitting reform, getting rid of blue tape, getting skills in schools, get that growth going — that's the best way,' Dimon said. The bond market has experienced a period of fluctuations since early April as President Trump rolled out his tariffs aimed at both allies and adversaries. Trump's 'big, beautiful bill,' which passed the House last month, has also shaken the financial markets given the trillions of dollars it is expected to add to the debt. Bond traders have grown concerned about the pressure higher U.S. debt could put on interest rates, and Trump has cited bond market turmoil as a reason behind his April decision to ease many of his 'Liberation Day' tariffs. The yield on the 30-year Treasury was north of 5.1 percent last week and was trading around 4.9 percent Wednesday. Schweikert said Wednesday that demographics are the 'driver' of the country's debt. Trump's massive legislative package includes an extension of the president's 2017 tax cuts, although the legislation could add $2.4 trillion to the U.S.'s deficit over the next 10 years, the new estimate from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said. Schweikert, a fiscal hawk, voted for the legislation, but he has said that he has concerns about the package. 'I'm intensely concerned that if the term premium on interest rates continues to either stay where it's at right this moment or expand, almost every bit of good we're doing with adding expensing, research and development expensing, many of these things will be consumed in the economy with higher interest rates,' the Arizona Republican said. 'There's this game of, well, 'I need to make people happy right now,'' Schweikert said on Wednesday. 'But the reality of it is, unless you're convincing the bond markets and the fact that how much borrowable money is in the world, when Germany's back in the debt markets, you see what's going on along and under the curve in Japan, China's actually still binging on debt. We seem to be avoidant of big-boy economics.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
6 days ago
- Business
- The Hill
High US debt will let bond market ‘run the country': GOP congressman
Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) said Wednesday that the growing U.S. national debt will make the government more vulnerable to being pressured by the bond market, allowing it to effectively 'run the country.' 'Look, we're on the cusp of deciding that the world debt markets will run the country. I mean, let's be brutally honest. I don't think the equity markets are as good a tell,' Schweikert, who sits on the House Ways and Means Committee, said during The Hill's 'Invest in America' event Wednesday. 'It's bond markets and debt markets,' he added. In recent weeks, some business leaders have expressed similar concerns, stating that the government's budget deficits and rising debt are issues that will rattle bond markets down the line. 'It's a big deal, you know it is a real problem, but one day … the bond markets are going to have a tough time. I don't know if it's six months or six years,' JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said during a Monday interview with Fox Business Network's 'Mornings with Maria.' 'The real focus should be growth, pro-business, proper deregulation, permitting reform, getting rid of blue tape, getting skills in schools, get that growth going — that's the best way,' Dimon said.. The bond market experienced a period of fluctuations since early April as President Trump rolled out his tariffs aimed at both allies and adversaries. Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill,' which passed the House last month, has also shaken the financial markets given the trillions of dollars it is expected to add to the debt. Bond traders have grown concerned about the pressure higher U.S. debt could put on interest rates, and Trump has cited bond market turmoil as a reason behind his April decision to ease many of his Liberation Day tariffs. The yield on the 30-year was north of 5.1 percent last week and was trading around 4.9 percent Wednesday. Schweikert said on Wednesday that demographics is the 'driver' of the country's debt. Trump's massive legislative package includes the extension of the president's 2017 tax cuts, although the legislation could add $2.4 trillion to the U.S.'s deficit over the next 10 years, the new estimate from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said. Schweikert, a fiscal hawk, voted for the legislation, but has said that he has concerns about the package. 'I'm intensely concerned that if the term premium on interest rates continues to either stay where it's at right this moment or expand, almost every bit of good we're doing with adding expensing, research and development expensing, many of these things will be consumed in the economy with higher interest rates,' the Arizona Republican said. 'There's this game of, well, 'I need to make people happy right now,'' Schweikert said on Wednesday. 'But the reality of it is, unless you're convincing the bond markets and the fact that how much borrowable money is in the world, when Germany's back in the debt markets, you see what's going on along and under the curve in Japan, China's actually still binging on debt. We seem to be avoidance of big-boy economics.'
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CBO projects deficits will sharply rise if Trump tax cuts made permanent
New projections from Congress's official legislative scorer show deficit levels will explode if the Trump tax cuts are made permanent and not simply extended. In response to an inquiry from House Ways and Means Committee member David Schweikert (R-Ariz.), the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found Friday that keeping the 2017 tax cuts in place and holding other budgetary policies steady would cause debt levels to reach 214 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2054. That's '47 percentage points higher than in the long-term baseline projections' released last March that are based on a 10-year extension of the cuts, the CBO said. CBO's original projection found that public debt would be 166 percent of GDP if the cuts are extended compared to the current level of 99 percent. Schweikert also asked the CBO to consider the deficit effects if interest rates were 1 percent higher than in earlier projections. In that case, the total public debt would be 250 percent of GDP in 2054. Schweikert has broken from many Republicans on the accounting methods that should be used for the tax cut extensions that are now under consideration. Republicans in the Senate want to use a 'current policy baseline' that assumes the Trump tax cuts will simply be extended. Under this baseline, extending the cuts beyond 2025 would not add to the deficit. CBO estimates extending all of the tax cuts set to expire at the end of 2025 would add $4.7 trillion to deficits over the next 10 years. Schweikert and some other Republicans have rebuked this accounting assumption as intellectually fraudulent since it assumes current policies continue into the future when they're actually expiring in U.S. law. The CBO analysis from Friday does not weigh in on the 'current policy' versus 'current law' baseline question. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent blasted CBO accounting methodologies this week, escalating the controversies around budgetary accounting involving the official scorer to a new level by calling them 'crazy.' 'Shame on me,' he said on the All In podcast. 'I was in the investment business for 35 years. I talked very confidently that 'CBO scoring says this.' And it turns out I didn't know you-know-what about CBO scoring. When you're on this side of the wall, you realize how crazy it is.' Bessent went on to criticize congressional reconciliation rules, which avoid the Senate filibuster and under which the current Republican tax extensions are being advanced, for requiring that revenue changes need to be renewed while 'spending never has to get renewed.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
21-03-2025
- Business
- The Hill
CBO projects deficits will sharply rise if Trump tax cuts made permanent
New projections from Congress's official legislative scorer show deficit levels will explode if the Trump tax cuts are made permanent and not simply extended. In response to a inquiry from Ways and Means Committee member David Schweikert (R-Ariz.), the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found Friday that keeping the 2017 tax cuts in place and holding other budgetary policies steady would cause debt levels to reach 214 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2054. That's '47 percentage points higher than in the long-term baseline projections' released last March that are based on a 10-year extension of the cuts, the CBO said. CBO's original projection found that public debt would be 166 percent of GDP if the cuts are extended compared to the current level of 99 percent. Schweikert also asked the CBO to consider the deficit effects if interest rates were 1 percent higher than in earlier projections. In that case, the total public debt would be 250 percent of GDP in 2054. Schweikert has broken from many Republicans on the accounting methods that should be used for the tax cut extensions that are now under consideration. Republicans in the Senate want to use a 'current policy baseline' that assumes the Trump tax cuts will simply be extended. Under this baseline, extending the cuts beyond 2025 would not add to the deficit. CBO estimates extending all of the tax cuts set to expire at the end of 2025 would add $4.7 trillion to deficits over the next 10 years. Schweikert and some other Republicans have rebuked this accounting assumption as intellectually fraudulent since it assumes current policies continue into the future when they're actually expiring in U.S. law. The CBO analysis from Friday does not weigh in on the 'current policy' versus 'current law' baseline question. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent blasted CBO accounting methodologies this week, escalating the controversies around budgetary accounting involving the official scorer to a new level by calling them 'crazy.' 'Shame on me,' he said on the All In podcast. 'I was in the investment business for 35 years. I talked very confidently that 'CBO scoring says this.' And it turns out I didn't know you-know-what about CBO scoring. When you're on this side of the wall, you realize how crazy it is.' Bessent went on to criticize congressional reconciliation rules, which avoid the Senate filibuster and under which the current Republican tax extensions are being advanced, for requiring that revenue changes need to be renewed while 'spending never has to get renewed.'
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Arizona GOP congressman talks about need for fiscal reform during conservative forum
The Brief Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ 1) took part in a forum hosted by a conservative group on March 18. The congressman talked about the need to fix the country's fiscal problems " You're going to have to do dozens and dozens and dozens of things," Rep. Schweikert said. PHOENIX - One day after Arizona Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego held a town hall to warn about potential cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, an Arizona Republican took part in a forum to push for fiscal responsibility in Washington. What we know During the forum, Rep. David Schweikert said issues like Medicaid are complex problems that require complex solutions. The congressman said the single greatest threat to national security is the national debt, and Rep. Schweikert said according to his math, Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare are swallowing us up. Local perspective The forum was hosted by a group named Conservative Agenda for Arizona, and among those in attendance were Matt Salmon, Jonathan Lines, former Arizona State Treasurer Eileen Klein, and moderator Mike Broomhead with news radio station KTAR. For around an hour, the group shared ideas about how to tackle Medicare and Social Security reform, from privatization to creating incentives for healthier living, and utilizing technology like AI to cut down on the workforce and create efficiency. However, Rep. Schweikert said the country is facing tens of trillions of dollars of debt over the next decade, much of which is generated by interest on borrowed money alone. The congressman said it's fixable, but the scale of it makes it extremely difficult. "The solution is actually complex. You're going to have to do dozens and dozens and dozens of things, but you're going to have to stop being afraid of technology," said Rep. Schweikert. "You're going to have to start talking about everything from a talent-based immigration system, because of what's happening with the demographics in the country, and we're going to need Republicans and Democrats to start telling the voters the truth of just how much financial trouble we're in." Dig deeper Fiscal responsibility is a platform for the Republican Party, which has a majority in both the U.S. House and Senate. President Donald Trump is also a Republican. We asked Rep. Schweikert if he is optimistic that Washington will start to tackle the national debt, and he said under the 2nd Trump Administration, at least the conversation can begin. Going beyond that, however, is going to require politicians to focus on winning the future, not just scoring political points today.
