Corker Speaks to Sevier Co. Rotaries

Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker spoke to a large group of Rotarians on Tuesday during at joint meeting of the Sevierville and Sevier county Rotary Clubs in Sevierville.
During the meeting Corker focused on the American debt crisis and warned the group that by 2030 he believes the national debt could be as high as 146 percent of the gross national product.
“In 1960 the national debt held by foreign holders was at five percent, today it is 47 percent,” he said.
He illustrated his point with a detailed PowerPoint presentation. He told the group that the publicly owned debt has grown since he began his presentation a few months ago.
In addition to presenting his view of the state of national debt; Corker also spoke to the group about the CAP Act, his legislation to set an across-the-board, binding cap on all federal spending.
The CAP Act would result in $7.6 trillion less spending over a 10-year period than projected current policy, he said.
It would put in place a 10-year glide path to cap all spending – discretionary and mandatory – to a declining percentage of the country’s gross domestic product, eventually bringing spending down from the current level, 24.7 percent of GDP, to the 40-year historical level of 20.6 percent.
Under the proposed act if Congress fails to meet the annual cap, it would require the Office of Management and Budget to make evenly distributed, simultaneous cuts throughout the federal budget to bring spending down to the pre-determined level. Only a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress could override the binding cap.
Corker said it will also, “For the first time, eliminate the deceptive ‘off-budget’ distinction for Social Security – providing a complete and accurate assessment of all federal spending.”