S.Amdt. 4223

SA 4223. Mr. BRAUN (for himself, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Scott of
Florida, and Ms. Ernst) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
to amendment SA 3867 submitted by Mr. Reed and intended to be proposed
to the bill H.R. 4350, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2022
for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle A of title X of division A, add the
following:

SEC. 10__. SENSE OF SENATE REGARDING RECOGNIZING NATIONAL
DEBT AS A THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY.

(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) in September 2020, the total public debt outstanding of
the United States was more than $26,000,000,000,000,
resulting in a total interest expense of more than
$371,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2020;
(2) in September 2019, the total public debt as a
percentage of gross domestic product was about 100 percent;
(3) leaders of the Congressional Budget Office and the
Government Accountability Office have testified that--
(A) the growth of the public debt is unsustainable; and
(B) Congress must undertake extensive fiscal consolidation
to combat that growth;
(4) the last Federal budget surplus occurred in 2001;
(5) in fiscal year 2020, Federal tax receipts totaled
$3,420,000,000,000, but Federal outlays totaled
$6,652,000,000,000, leaving the Federal Government with a 1-
year deficit of $3,132,000,000,000;
(6) since the last Federal budget surplus occurred in 2001,
Congress--
(A) has failed to maintain a fiscally responsible budget;
and
(B) has had to raise the debt ceiling repeatedly;
(7) the Medicare Board of Trustees projects that the
Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund will be depleted in
2026;
(8) the Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees
project that the Disability Insurance and the Federal Old-Age
and Survivors Insurance Trust Funds will be depleted in 2026
and 2031, respectively;
(9) heavy indebtedness increases the exposure of the
Federal Government to interest rate risks;
(10) the credit rating of the United States was reduced by
Standard and Poor's from AAA to AA+ on August 5, 2011, and
has remained at that level ever since;
(11) without a targeted effort to balance the Federal
budget, the credit rating of the United States will continue
to fall;
(12) improvements in the business climate in populous
countries, and aging populations around the world, will
likely contribute to higher global interest rates;
(13) more than $7,000,000,000,000 of Federal debt is owned
by individuals not located in the United States, including
more than $1,000,000,000,000 of which is owned by individuals
in China;
(14) China and the European Union are developing
alternative payment systems to weaken the dominant position
of the United States dollar as a reserve currency;
(15) rapidly increasing interest rates will squeeze all
policy priorities of the United States, including defense
policy and foreign policy priorities;
(16) the National Security Strategy of the United States,
as of the date of enactment of this Act, highlights the need
to reduce the national debt through fiscal responsibility;
(17) on April 12, 2018, former Secretary of Defense James
Mattis warned that ``any Nation that can't keep its fiscal
house in order eventually cannot maintain its military
power'';
(18) on March 6, 2018, former Director of National
Intelligence Dan Coats warned: ``Our continued plunge into
debt is unsustainable and represents a dire future threat to
our economy and to our national security'';
(19) on November 15, 2017, former Secretaries of Defense
Leon Panetta, Ash Carter, and Chuck Hagel warned: ``Increase
in the debt will, in the absence of a comprehensive budget
that addresses both entitlements and revenues, force even
deeper reductions in our national security capabilities'';
and
(20) on September 22, 2011, former Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullen warned: ``I believe the
single, biggest threat to our national security is debt''.
(b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate
that--
(1) the national debt is a threat to the national security
of the United States;
(2) persistent, structural deficits are unsustainable,
irresponsible, and dangerous; and

[[Page S7685]]

(3) the looming fiscal crisis faced by the United States
must be addressed.
______