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by Terence P. Jeffrey, CNS News:
Mick Mulvaney, who serves as director of President Donald Trump’s Office of Management and Budget, said in a message introducing Trump’s “America First” budget blueprint today that the $20 trillion debt of the federal government is a “crisis” that must be addressed.
Trump’s budget calls for completely eliminating federal funding for numerous agencies—including the National Endowment for the Arts and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting–and refocusing the use of federal tax dollars in order to “redefine the proper role of the federal government.”
“The president’s commitment to fiscal responsibility is historic,” Mulvaney said in his statement. “Not since early in President Reagan’s first term have more tax dollars been saved and more government inefficiency and waste been targeted.
“Every corner of the federal budget is scrutinized, every program tested, every penny of taxpayer money watched over,” said Mulvaney.
“Our $20 trillion national debt is a crisis, not just for the nation, but for every citizen,” said the OMB director.
“Each American’s share of the debt is more than $60,000 and growing,” he said. “It is a challenge of great stakes, but one the American people can solve.
“American families make tough decision every day about their own budgets; it is time Washington does the same,” he said.
When President Barack Obama took office on Jan. 20, 2009, the federal debt was $10.6 trillion, according to the Treasury. By the time Obama left office, on Jan. 20, 2017, it had grown to more than $19.9 trillion—an increase in debt of 9.3 trillion, or almost 88 percent.