The federal debt today is over $16.5 trillion dollars, which is larger than the entire U.S. economy.  Believe it or not, the debt is set to skyrocket in the years to come if Congress fails to act.  If we do not stop this uncontrollable spending, and continue adding mountains of debt to our already crushing burden, our country will end up being compared to other countries with similar financial problems.

There have been 3,250 changes to the tax code since 2001 that cost more than $1 trillion annually. Social security will run cash deficits of $1.3 trillion over the next ten years.  Medicare spending is growing faster than the economy and will be seven percent of the GDP by 2014. Washington must get spending under control.

Since I came to Congress, I have been a strong advocate of a balanced budget amendment. I don’t believe Congress has the fiscal discipline to keep our nation’s finances in order. That’s why I believe the only way to ensure getting our nation’s debt under control is by amending our constitution to make sure we have a balanced budget.

In the 112^th Congress, I authored and introduced a Balanced Budget Amendment to our constitution and was part of a working group with House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA). While this legislation was brought to the floor, a strong effort by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to whip Democrats to vote no ensured that my legislation did not meet the two-thirds vote threshold to move the Amendment any closer to going to the states for ratification.

This Congress, I was proud to vote for the Ryan Budget plan that puts our nation’s finances on a ten-year pathway to balancing the budget and suggests common-sense entitlement reforms to strengthen Social Security and Medicare for future generations. I strongly believe that by balancing our budget, we will take significant steps toward getting our federal deficit under control, expanding our economy and creating jobs.

Part of the problem is that Washington has not been focused on balancing our budget. This was the first year since 2008 that Senate Democrats have even offered a budget resolution, let alone voted on a budget blueprint. We can no longer kick the can down the road with temporary fixes so I’m pleased that Congress is back to a regular budget process.

As I visit small business owners across Nebraska’s Second District, I hear their concerns and as they share their lack of certainty in our economy. Of the things I hear most often is the need to fix our nation’s antiquated and complicated tax code so that we can encourage job creation. The Ryan Budget suggests much-needed reforms to the U.S. tax code to incentivize American competitiveness and create jobs, which I believe is the appropriate focus of tax reform.

More people working means an increased tax base and that will significantly help reduce our deficit and provide much needed funding to state and local governments struggling under federal mandates.

The United States of America is a great country and we must fix this problem as soon as possible, so that we can continue maintain this status.