Retiring Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker is leaving Congress with a stern warning about the future of the country if the government continues its current fiscal path.
“I think the greatest threat to our nation is us,” Corker, who announced this week that he would not seek re-election in 2018, told The New York Times.”The way we handle our finances, we as a nation are the greatest threat to our nation. It’s not ISIS. It’s not North Korea. It’s not ascendant China. It’s not Russia. We are the greatest threat.”
Corker, who sits on the Senate Budget Committee, is a self-described budget hawk, and is one of the few Republicans to comment on the importance of balancing the budget since President Donald Trump became president.
The federal deficit topped $20 trillion in September for the first time ever, and so far federal spending hasn’t slowed. Trump’s proposed budget for the first part of the coming fiscal year was pushed aside during a deal the president struck with Democrats to raise the debt ceiling and continue funding the government at current levels. The House of Representatives is planning to begin work on the budget for 2018 in the coming weeks at the same time as tax reform.
Several expensive spending proposals are on the table even as Congress hopes to cut taxes, including disaster relief funding for Texas and Florida communities struggling after this year’s hurricanes, rebuilding the armed forces, and spending on infrastructure development.
‘WE KNOW EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED’, SEN. BOB CORKER REGARDING RUSSIA:
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