Congressional Budget Office Director Testifies on Legislative Fiscal Outlook

Congressional Budget Office Director Phillip Swagel testified at a Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth hearing on the legislative fiscal outlook for the next decade. The director addressed the growing debt held by the public, saying it would grow to 120% by 2036. Moreover, he said the balance of the Social Security's Old-Age and Survivors' Insurance (OASI) trust fund would be "exhausted" by 2032, a year earlier than previously projected, and the Medicare Part A trust fund would be "exhausted" in 2040. Additionally, he touched on the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, saying the termination of the tariffs would result in "projected deficits that are $2 trillion larger over the 2026-36 period" than previously projected. Others testifying alongside Director Swagel were Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, and Martha Gimbel, former White House senior economic adviser (Biden administration).