Senator Perdue Works to Draw Attention to the Nation’s Debt

Senator David Perdue is concerned enough about the nation’s growing debt crisis that he refused to endorse a Republican presidential candidate because he hoped to be able to convince each of them to take on the issue. He pointed out that after some ten presidential debates, the national debt, which he feels should be a top issue, hasn’t become an issue that’s been debated. Perdue fears that the debt threatens the country’s ability to defend itself and to continue many safety net programs.

Last month, Senator Perdue introduced legislation that would modify the way the Senate deals with the budgeting process, including introducing zero based budgeting and putting Social Security on budget. He says that he’s gotten an overwhelming response to the measure from his Senate colleagues.

In a recent interview, Perdue pointed out that the current budgeting law isn’t working, and that one result was the omnibus spending bill that drew wide criticism from lawmakers and citizens alike.

What we saw last year was the ultimate failure, a perverse failure. Frankly, it shows all the weakness in the current process, and you simply have got to change it. You have so many new Senators in the right now that that ran on gaining control of the debt, and we’re running out of time. I’m really calling this out to all the presidentials that this is the number one issue we’ve got to deal with right now.