CBO Director Warns Federal Spending on ‘Unsustainable Course,’ Risk of National Financial Crisis Growing

A man walks past the National Debt Clock on 43rd Street in midtown New York City Feb. 15, 2019. TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images

WASHINGTON—Government spending and debt have grown so much in recent years that the federal budget is on an “unsustainable course” and will require reduced benefits and higher taxes in the near future, according to Congressional Budget Office Director Phillip Swagel.

“Even though the U.S. economy has been strong, with a low unemployment rate and rising wages, the federal budget deficit remains large, and debt is growing,” Swagel said late Sept. 9 during a presentation at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget’s (CRFB) annual dinner.