The States Have Lessons for Congress About the Exploding National Debt: Jonathan Williams & Elise Nieshalla in The Hill
States are coming to understand that every dollar sent to them is borrowed, and that it rests on their shoulders to solve this problem with our federal leaders.
ALEC President and Chief Economist Jonathan Williams and Indiana State Comptroller Elise Nieshalla co-authored an op-ed in The Hill on how states and the federal government must address the national debt.
A recent warning from the Congressional Budget Office once again made explicit what has become evident: The national debt is at a precariously high level and on track to continue rising sharply over the next decade. Yet on Capitol Hill, urgency remains in short supply.
Thankfully, states, closer to the taxpayers who foot the bill, have taken note that America cannot afford the luxury of indifference.
The consequences of unrestrained borrowing are not speculative. Absent reforms, these financial consequences are mathematically guaranteed. Moreover, Social Security’s trust funds are projected to become insolvent by 2033, and Medicare and Medicaid will not be far behind. These are not partisan talking points but fiscal realities.
There are national security implications as well. In 2025, more than $8 trillion of federal debt was held outside the U.S., including over $800 billion held by China. Dependency is rarely a position of strength. As former Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats once observed, a debt that is “unsustainable” poses a direct threat not only to economic stability but to national security. A nation that finances its present by mortgaging its future eventually finds both greatly diminished.
President Trump has appointed Vice President JD Vance chairman of the newly established National Fraud Task Force — an exciting development to protect taxpayers and ensure that government programs operate with transparency, accountability, and integrity. Meanwhile, initiatives such as the Department of Government Efficiency, along with work led by Russ Vought at the Office of Management and Budget, reflect an understanding that fiscal discipline is a governing necessity.