CHARLES CITY, Iowa — South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg said Sunday night that his vision for the nation will not add a penny to the national deficit.
Speaking to voters that crammed into a local Elks Lodge here, Mr. Buttieig said Democrats must lead on the issue because the GOP has given up on the sea of red that threatens to engulf Washington.
“Everything that I promise we are going to do in this campaign, I will also explain how we are going to pay for it,” the 2020 contender said to the packed room. “It will always even out so that the deficit either gets smaller or at the very worst doesn’t get bigger.”
The Congressional Budget Office, the chief fiscal watchdog for Congress, projected the nation closed the last fiscal year, which ended on Sept. 30, with a 960 billion deficit, marking the biggest deficit since 2012.
The CBO forecasts deficits will average $1.2 trillion a year between 2020 and 2029.
Mr. Buttigieg is on the rise in Iowa and was asked about his plans for addressing the national deficit during a three-day bus tour through the northern part of the state.
Mr. Buttigieg said he has been “really measured” in his campaign promises and said he is willing to raise the revenue through tax policy to support his plans.
“I think it’s important and I think the Democratic Party needs to accept responsibility for this because the folks on the other side have made it clear they are just not going to,” he said.
The 37-year-old also distanced himself from his far-left rivals.
He said his $1.5 trillion health care plan costs a “fraction” of what others have offered and said his push for free college applies to low-income individuals, but not the child of a millionaire who can pick up the tab.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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