It’s no secret our nation is in troubling times, and things have only gotten worse under the failed leadership of the Biden-Harris administration. I’ve written and spoken often about the border crisis Joe Biden and Kamala Harris created because this is a massive problem that is plaguing every city and every state in this country. Unfortunately, we cannot forget that our country also has a massive financial problem that continues growing bigger each and every day.

Our national debt is well over $35 trillion, and interest payments on our debt now cost us more than our defense spending. Yes, you read that right – we are spending more money paying the interest on our debt than we are defending this country from rising threats around the world. This is a massive problem for the future stability of our country, and we can’t keep kicking the can down the road.

This is exactly why I worked to get on the House Appropriations Committee, where I have been laser focused on cutting wasteful spending and pointless government programs, while fighting for record funding to build the wall and secure our borders, give our warfighters pay raises and state-of-the-art equipment, and take care of our senior citizens and our veterans.

Since early this year, I have worked tirelessly with my fellow Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee to put together and pass all 12 annual funding bills. We were successful in getting all of them out of Committee (the first step in the process), and five have already passed the House. We’ve got great momentum and are focused on finishing the process.

Just this last week, we overwhelmingly passed H.R. 9747, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act of 2025, which ensures we will avoid a costly and dangerous government shutdown, damage to national security, and a lapse in critical government programs, while giving us more time to continue our work of cutting spending and getting our financial house back in order.

Washington has a spending problem, not a revenue problem. For too long, the federal government has been run by people who don’t understand how to balance the checkbook and make ends meet. We simply cannot allow this to continue, and it’s what I’m fighting against every single day. It’s not too late to turn this ship around, and I can promise you I’m doing everything I can to get us back on track.

Jerry Carl represents Alabama’s First Congressional District. He lives in Mobile with his wife Tina.

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