Authored By Alina Hunter-Grah

Candidates for Tennessee's U.S. Senate seat Gov. Phil Bredesen and U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn both shared ideas for shrinking the federal spending deficit. The current $828-billion deficit contributes to the continuously rising national debt estimated at $21.4 trillion. Both candidates acknowledged that the increasing deficit comes from a lack of action on both sides of the aisle and they have different ideas about how to correct the problem. Bredesen's plan At a Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce event Tuesday morning, Bredesen laid out his plan and took questions from reporters. His idea is to stall spending increases for the next few years to allow revenue to catch up with the country's spending habits. He said the deficit itself is not a cause for concern but becomes a problem because it will continue to rise due to unchecked federal spending habits. "The real danger is not the current level, but that this deficit is now structural," Bredesen said during the event. "In the past, the deficit went up during depression and wars, but then we got back to being balanced. Right now there is no path forward." His idea calls for the president or Congress to pause the country's spending at the current $3.316 trillion per year rate until inflating revenues, which Bredesen predicts at a 5.1 percent increase, catch up in about five or six years. He understands that holding a constant spending limit despite inflation could affect the government's revenue, but still said his plan is viable. He also said he's optimistic about the way others will receive his plan should he become elected. He sees a likelihood that the U.S. House of Representatives will flip to a Democratic majority, leading to forced across-the-aisle cooperation between the House and the Senate. He also sees President Donald Trump's previous attempts to curb the rising deficit as a hopeful sign for potential support. “The president has talked about wanting to eliminate the debt, so if he’s planning on being [president] for eight years, here’s a way that actually would before he left office,” Bredesen said. “If he wants to explore that kind of thing when I get up there, I’m certainly willing to work with him to try to do it.”
Blackburn's plan At about the same time Bredesen spoke at his event, Blackburn's team sent out a news release about her plan, which suggests passing a balanced-budget amendment, reducing spending across the board, and making the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent. "Beginning with my time as a state senator, where I led the opposition to the state income tax, to my time in the House, I’ve been a deficit hawk, and I plan to take that same steely commitment to the U.S. Senate," Blackburn said in a prepared statement. Blackburn's proposed amendment would require the federal government to balance its budget in the same way states are required to. The amendment would require a two-thirds "yes" vote from the House and Senate and ratification by three-fourths of the states. To supplement, Blackburn also suggested across the board spending cuts with an exception to military spending, which accounts for $700 billion of the budget, and with major decreases planned for Medicaid in the form of block grants. While making the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent would not decrease the deficit, Blackburn said that doing so would mean more money in the pockets of Tennesseans. "Cutting spending alone will not solve the problem; we must grow our economy," she said in a news release. "Tennesseans have witnessed first hand the benefits of economic growth resulting from low taxation." Alina Hunter-Grah is a contributing writer. She is a graduate of The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she received a bachelor’s degree in communication with a minor in political science. Alina has over three years of journalism experience including time spent with CNN and 2nd & Church, a magazine based in Nashville, Tennessee. You can reach Alina at ahuntergrah@gmail.com or on Twitter @alinahuntergrah.