With the country more than $34.5 trillion in debt, Third Congressional District Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Washougal, has received recognition for her work in prioritizing fiscal responsibility in federal budgeting.
On Wednesday, Gluesenkamp Perez was named a 2024 Fiscal Hero by Fix the Debt, a project of the nonpartisan, non-profit Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The award, given to a bipartisan collection of lawmakers, celebrates policymakers who have improved the nation’s fiscal trajectory.
“Our national debt is a real, growing problem, affects our economy, and has been overlooked by Congress for too long,” Gluesenkamp Perez said in a statement. “To avoid passing on more debt to our children, I’ll keep working with my bipartisan colleagues on commonsense efforts to cut government waste, reduce our deficit, and be responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars.”
While in Congress, Gluesenkamp Perez introduced the Comprehensive Congressional Budget Act to reform the federal budgeting process. In March, the Federal Use It or Lose It Leases (FULL) Act, sponsored by Gluesenkamp Perez and Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-North Carolina, passed the House of Representatives. Gluesenkamp Perez also cosponsored the Fiscal State of the Nation Act, which she said would enhance the transparency of federal spending.
After congress passed a second package of government spending bills for fiscal year 2024, Gluesenkamp Perez noted that the legislation “maintains the funding levels agreed to in the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act” and puts “our country’s finances on a path towards fiscal stability.”
“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 Gluesenkamp Perez, for having the courage to prioritize our fiscal health and work towards achieving a more sustainable debt trajectory,” Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said in a statement. “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.”
In addition to Gluesenkamp Perez, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget recognized Washington Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Spokane, and Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor.
