1. United States
2. Iowa
3. Letter

I am writing to ask a simple but urgent question: where has your commitment to fiscal conservatism gone? The recently released Treasury financial statements for fiscal year 2025 paint a deeply troubling picture. The federal government reports $6.06 trillion in assets against $47.78 trillion in liabilities — a negative position of over $41 trillion. That figure does not even include the staggering $88.4 trillion in long-term unfunded obligations for programs like Social Security and Medicare. When those are considered, total federal obligations exceed $136 trillion — roughly five times the size of the U.S. economy. Put into everyday terms, this is the equivalent of a household earning $52,000 per year, spending $73,000, and carrying over $1.3 million in debt and unfunded promises. No serious fiscal conservative would consider that sustainable. Yet despite these alarming realities, Congress — particularly Republicans who have long campaigned on fiscal discipline — appears to have abdicated its constitutional responsibility over federal spending. Why has Congress effectively handed control of the purse strings to the executive branch, rather than exercising its duty to rein in deficits and restore fiscal order? Equally concerning is the continued political support for a president whose record raises serious questions about financial stewardship. Why did members of your party believe that a businessman with a history of multiple corporate bankruptcies and well-documented controversies involving charitable funds would be a responsible steward of the nation’s finances? If fiscal responsibility is truly a priority, then action is long overdue. Measures such as establishing a bipartisan fiscal commission and pursuing structural reforms to control spending growth deserve serious consideration. But more importantly, Congress must reclaim its role and demonstrate the political will to confront this crisis honestly. The American people deserve answers — and more importantly, they deserve accountability. I look forward to your response.