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I arrived in Congress last year just in time to witness what has become a Washington tradition: the annual fund-the-government “crisis” engineered just before Christmas. Every year, just in the nick of time, Congress manages to prevent the government from shutting down and find funds for everything that has been promised.

And magically, despite the constant hemorrhaging of cash from the federal government and the escalating federal debt, we have been told that the deficit in relation to the overall size of the economy has not increased.

It was fully one year ago that I was sounding the alarm that Washington was addicted to borrowing and special-interest money — and it seems that this year, reality has finally caught up with Congress’ drunken-sailor spending.

According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the federal budget deficit will swell in relation to GDP this year for the first time since 2009, ballooning to an estimated $544 billion in 2016. If Congress continues on its current path of spending, the deficit will surpass $1 trillion by 2022 and every year after. The deficit is expected to rise every single year and by 2026 we will be adding more than $1.3 trillion per year to the debt.

The gross federal debt will rise from $19.3 trillion at the end of last year to $29.3 trillion by the beginning of 2026. We have $100 trillion in unfunded liabilities. In 11 years, all federal revenues will be spent on mandatory federal spending — programs like Medicare and Social Security and interest on the debt — meaning there will be nothing left for the military, education, transportation or anything else. Not one dollar — unless we pile on more debt.

Medicare and Social Security will both be insolvent by 2030 and 2034, which means these programs will not be fully funded for the next generation or even for current beneficiaries.

Clearly, something has to give.

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) has promised that in 2016 the House will follow regular order, which means that there should be no fiscal “crisis” this Christmas. After we finish our work in the Budget Committee, the House Appropriations Committee will take up work and should appropriate all discretionary funds through regular order.

The Freedom Caucus, of which I am a member, fought so hard for regular order for this very reason: The American people should be able to see where their tax dollars have been appropriated (spent). Representatives will be able to make choices about what federal departments and which specific programs to fund, instead of members being forced to vote at the end of the year for a giant spending package that includes the proverbial federal kitchen sink.

It is clear to me as an economist that the U.S. has an out-of-control spending problem, especially when annually appropriated spending is less than a third of the budget these days — and falling to less than a quarter by 2026. As a congressman and member of the House Budget Committee, it’s also clear that Congress has so far lacked the will to tackle its fiscal irresponsibility. This year’s massive December omnibus package funds President Barack Obama’s agenda through September 2016 with no offsets in spending.

When I got to Congress last year, I wasted no time introducing a well-thought-out Balanced Budget Amendment. This week, I will be sending a letter to my colleagues requesting their urgent support for my principles-based resolution, which will require Congress to balance the budget within 10 years of ratification.

The latest CBO report numbers are stark — but they are just the first in what will be an unending avalanche of bad economic news if Congress fails to take fiscal responsibility. As interest rates go up, the cost of this debt burden will skyrocket. That is why passing my amendment is both a practical and a moral imperative.

Unlike previous legislation with similar goals, my bill develops consensus on how to arrive at the goal of balance, allowing members of Congress to choose among a variety of methods. It also gives members a good defense for making tough decisions — something they currently don’t have.

Supporting my proposal should be a common-sense, bipartisan decision for members: It doesn’t have any controversial provisions; it is simple and flexible; and it maintains the balance of powers. My amendment establishes what must be the end-game: that the budget must balance within a decade.

There are tough choices ahead — for the American people and for their representatives. Kicking the budget can down the road has become routine in Washington — but I hope that this year, my colleagues will agree to get the country’s fiscal house in order. End the deficit in 10 years by passing the balanced budget amendment.

*Posted in the Richmond Times-Dispatch*