Last Thursday, Congressman Bill Huizenga (R-MI) released the following statement after he was named a “Fiscal Hero” by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget for his expansive record of work confronting the national debt crisis and fixing the broken budget process. Last summer, Rep. Huizenga introduced the Fiscal Commission Act, which is designed to tackle our national debt and improve our nation’s fiscal trajectory.

“I am honored to be recognized for my efforts to get our nation’s fiscal house in order,” said Congressman Bill Huizenga. “What Washington spends on interest payments to finance the national debt is now greater than what is spent on our national defense. Not only is this unsustainable, but it is dangerous and unacceptable. This is why I introduced multiple pieces of legislation to tackle our national debt. I will continue fighting to reduce spending, fix our nation’s broken budget process, and restore fiscal sanity. While there’s much to be done, I’m thankful we’ve drawn greater attention to the urgency of this crisis.”

Maya MacGuineas, President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and head of Fix the Debt, said: “Fiscal responsibility is a stewardship, not only for Americans today but for generations of Americans to come. We applaud this year’s Fiscal Heroes, including Representative Huizenga, for having the courage to prioritize our fiscal health and work towards achieving a more sustainable debt trajectory. Through legislation, speeches, engagement back home, and tough political decisions, these Members of Congress have distinguished themselves as leaders on these key issues, and we are honored to recognize and applaud them for their efforts. We look forward to seeing how these Fiscal Heroes will build on the momentum in the past year to make even greater strides going forward.”

Fiscal Heroes are awarded each Congress to recognize policymakers working to improve the nation's fiscal situation and fix the budget process. Fiscal Heroes have distinguished themselves by pushing their party leaders to make debt a priority, leading efforts to work through policy options to fix the debt and the budget process, taking responsible votes, educating constituents on budgetary challenges, delivering floor speeches to raise awareness about the issue, advocating to keep tough choices on the table, and introducing legislation to improve the budget process and the nation's fiscal position.

(Photo provided by Brian Patrick)