(Arlington Va. – July 8, 2026) – Concord Action hosted an America 250 virtual town hall yesterday featuring Jessica Riedl, Budget and Tax Fellow at the Brookings Institution. The event covered the urgent need to take action on the national debt, which will exceed an unprecedented $40 trillion later this year.
The conversation centered around the growth of the U.S. publicly held debt to more than 100% of GDP, the dangers of rapidly rising interest costs, and real solutions that must be taken to fix the crisis before America’s next 50 year anniversary. Riedl, a federal budget expert and former staff director of the U.S. Senate Finance Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth, cut right to the point – the “solutions” that politicians have typically provided like cutting out waste or raising taxes on the wealthiest are hot air. If we want a sustainable solution, there will need to be changes to major programs, and it is our responsibility to make that politically tolerable for congressional leaders.
“Let’s make sure we arrest this problem before America 300. The projections are terrifying and unsustainable, but there is still time to act before the debt grows from roughly 100% of GDP today to 175%, 200% or even higher.”
“If you want to fix the budget, you have to focus on what is actually driving the problem: Social Security, health care and interest. We could eliminate the defense budget and still not balance the budget. We could zero out foreign aid, Ukraine funding and immigration spending, and it would be a rounding error. That is not where the money is.”
For the full conversation, visit Concord Action’s Facebook page HERE and sign up to be notified of future virtual town hall events.
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