By Lindsay Fiori

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., wishes he’d had more impact in Washington, D.C., so far but says he’s doing all he can to rein in government spending and reduce the country’s debt.

“We’ve got a pretty dire financial situation in this country. The need to solve it is urgent, and that’s what I’m trying to do,” Johnson said Thursday during a meeting with The Journal Times Editorial Board.

Since 1917, federal spending has risen from 2 percent of gross domestic product to 24 percent. But a sustainable tax revenue rate brings in only 18.1 percent of GDP, meaning government spending must be lowered to at least that same 18.1 percent level, Johnson said.

Getting there is easier said than done though. Part of the problem is that more and more government expenses are considered mandatory instead of discretionary, Johnson said.

“In the ’60s, prior to the Great Society, the War on Poverty, 68 percent of our budget was actually appropriated. It was controlled in some fashion. Thirty-two percent was basically entitlements, mandatory spending or interest,” he said. “That’s flipped so now 62 percent of our budget is basically not budgeted at all, not appropriated. It’s automatic. It’s mandatory and 38 percent is appropriated.”

Such an “automatic” setup makes it very difficult to control and reduce spending, Johnson said.

He did offer a few steps for cutting spending and debt, though. Johnson said the first steps are admitting there is a problem and making sure the public is well-informed. Then the size of government must be reduced, health care reform legislation must be repealed and pro-growth tax reforms must be initiated instead of increasing taxes on businesses or the rich.

“I wish we could be in a position where we could cut taxes and spur economic growth. I mean we’re just not. We can’t,” Johnson said. “But at the same time I don’t think we should be increasing taxes because it harms economic growth.”

Johnson said he’s been working with Democrats, House members and financial experts to find solutions and cooperation. He also tried for a Republican Senate leadership position but lost by a few votes. 

He said the loss still makes a point that Republicans are interested in change.

“I wish I could report progress,” he said. “I think it was a real shame that we didn’t utilize that debt ceiling deadline as a real moment to prompt action. I think we tried.”

Johnson backs some cuts in defense spending

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., would not cut the military’s humanitarian relief budget but would favor trimming the defense budget in other ways.

“I think you really need to take a look with a very sharp pencil at the management of the Pentagon (and) every federal agency,” Johnson said Thursday. “I’ve got a very open mind on this.”

Johnson suggested trimming staff at the Pentagon including civilians — an idea suggested to him by former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld — and people in unnecessary bureaucratic layers.

People in the military “go up through the ranks and all of a sudden, ‘Where do we put them? Oh, let’s stick them in the Pentagon.’ And so you just create those layers and at a certain point in time — when you’re running a $1.3 trillion a year deficit, when you’re sequestering now because of the debt ceiling agreement half a trillion dollars worth of Pentagon spending — we’re going to have to take some serious looks at how to do this efficiently.”

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