Our country is at a crossroads: do we get our fiscal house in order, or continue to kick the can and put the growing burden on the next generation?

It is critical that we balance our budget, and as a member of the House Budget Committee, I will work to restore our country to a fiscally conservative path. Our national debt has ballooned, doubling in the last ten years. We must take action to address this. We cannot keep borrowing from our children and we cannot impose one-size-fits-all proposals like the unaffordable “Medicare for All” plan, which could cost as much as $33 trillion over ten years.

We also cannot just cut discretionary spending. We have to deal with the hard issues: sensible reforms to mandatory spending, including Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. According to a recent Social Security Trustees Report, the Social Security Trust Fund is on pace to be depleted by 2034. If these programs continue on an unsustainable trajectory, the only options will be benefit cuts or increased payroll tax rates.

It is vital to implement solutions that do not unexpectedly cut the benefits our seniors have contributed to and planned on for decades. But a solution also must not place an unnecessary tax burden on today’s workers. It’s time we started making common sense decisions about spending before it is too late.