Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, updated students on the latest news in Washington at the Hinckley Institute of Politics on Monday.
Chaffetz, who is entering his third term in Congress, is concerned about the rising national debt. He said when he first ran for office, the national debt was hovering at about $9 trillion, but today it is quickly approaching $17 trillion.
“If you don’t get the federal government’s budget under control, you can’t do anything else,” Chaffetz said. “It impedes our ability to be self-sufficient … and make the federal government more effective and more efficient.”
Chaffetz said there are several reasons the national debt is rising so quickly. First, he said there are more federal employees than there were four years ago. Second, Chaffetz said President Barack Obama has not passed a budget for the last few years and will not present his budget for the 2014 fiscal year until Wednesday. He said the House and Senate have also been fairly inconsistent in passing their own budgets, though the House has passed a budget for the last four years.
“The president is supposed to present a budget,” Chaffetz said. “[The president] hasn’t done that in a long time, so it’s hard to gauge exactly where we’re supposed to be.”
Chaffetz said no one voted for any of Obama’s budgets.
“He never got a single vote in favor of his [budgets],” Chaffetz said. “Not a single one.”
He also said each year both houses and the president should introduce budgets to establish a framework.
“A lot of people have banked on the fact that most Americans don’t care and don’t understand how this process works,” Chaffetz said.
Unless Congress moves to reign in spending, the debt will continue to grow, Chaffetz said, and the U.S. government spends $10 billion a day, including $600 million a day on interest.
Angela Nuila, a freshman in nursing, said she thinks it is important for students to care about balancing the budget because the responsibility of paying it will fall on them.
“Later on, we’re going to have to end up having to pay for [the debt], and our children and our grandchildren are going to have to pay for [the debt],” Nuila said.
Chaffetz said there is also a lack of leadership coming from the White House in regard to immigration issues.
“There is no plan from the White House,” he said. “There is no specific piece of legislation they’re supporting.”
Chaffetz said it appears Washington is still divided when it comes to solving the immigration problem in the United States. He also feels the issue deserves more attention. When Chaffetz was on the House Judiciary Subcommittee of Immigration, his group met a total of 12 times in two years.
Nuila appreciated his dedication to getting laws passed regarding immigration as well.
“I think it was important how he said about the immigration status, and his position for that,” she said.