This week, our Concord team experienced Washington at its most inspiring — and its most exasperating.
It began Wednesday afternoon with a meeting in the office of Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ), where we introduced Concord’s interactive federal budget exercise — a nonpartisan tool that helps Americans wrestle with the tough trade offs required to get our fiscal house in order. The meeting kicked off two full days of advocacy, education, and witnessing democracy unfold in real time.
Later that evening, from 5:30 to 8:00 PM, our group — including Phillip Cole, Concord’s Arizona State Director and one of our dedicated Fiscal Lookouts, along with his family and fellow Arizonan Andrew Pescador — sat in the gallery of the U.S. House of Representatives for what proved to be a dramatic showdown.
Speaker Mike Johnson was working to secure votes for a proposed budget resolution that would add $6 trillion in debt. A small group of lawmakers initially resisted the effort, citing concerns about long-term deficits and the need for greater transparency. The pressure was intense, the chamber tense, and for a brief moment, it seemed like those voices might carry the day.
“We were in the room where it didn’t happen,” Phillip Cole remarked afterward, putting a budget-wonk twist on the famous Hamilton lyric.
But 24 hours later, the House reconvened — and passed the resolution. Lawmakers who had voiced clear and compelling concerns about the fiscal consequences ultimately gave their support.
The disappointment was real. But so was our resolve.
Over the course of our visit, Cole and the team also met with staff in the offices of Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and had a thoughtful 30-minute discussion with Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ). There, we dove into both the fiscal challenges ahead and promising ideas — from reforms to Medicare Advantage, to applying technological innovations that could ease future budget burdens.
We also made time to tour the Capitol and White House, caught a press conference on veterans’ benefits, and even glimpsed Senators Lindsey Graham, Amy Klobuchar, and John Fetterman while riding the Senate subway. Along the way, we had the chance to show what true civic engagement looks like — grounded in facts, guided by concern, and focused on long-term responsibility.
It’s difficult to see lawmakers raise the alarm about deficits one day and support a measure that adds trillions in new debt the next. But we remain hopeful that the warnings voiced this week — about mounting interest costs, opaque budget practices, and unsustainable borrowing — will not be forgotten.
Because sometimes the room where it didn’t happen today is the room where it can happen tomorrow.
And after a day like this, that hope — and the work of dedicated Fiscal Lookouts — matters more than ever.
Continue Reading
