Burlison: Politicians are ‘drunk on spending other people’s money’
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Washington’s biggest spending problem is not a lack of promises to cut the federal budget — it is a lack of lawmakers willing to follow through.
Speaking Friday morning on Newstalk KZRG, Southwest Missouri Congressman Eric Burlison said only a small group of members of Congress consistently vote to reduce federal spending, arguing that fiscal restraint is often more of a campaign message than a governing priority.
“It’s just unfortunate but true that a lot of politicians are drunk on spending other people’s money,” Burlison said.
His comments come as the national debt has surpassed $40 trillion and the Trump administration seeks a record $1.5 trillion defense budget for fiscal year 2027.
Burlison said he would be more receptive to increased military spending if Congress offset the cost with cuts elsewhere and the Pentagon first demonstrated that it had aggressively targeted waste.
“You can’t tell me that there isn’t waste in the Pentagon,” Burlison said.
He added that if the military had “pinched every penny” and still needed additional resources to counter China or address a national security threat, increased spending could be justified.
“But when you’ve demonstrated to me that you’re not even willing to cut waste, then I don’t know that I’m interested in giving you more taxpayer dollars,” Burlison said.
Burlison also called for a federal balanced budget amendment, pointing to fiscal restraints in Missouri as a model for forcing Washington to live within tighter limits.
On inflation and high energy prices, Burlison argued that reducing federal spending should be Congress’ first move.
He blamed much of the inflation that followed the pandemic on federal spending under former President Joe Biden and said Americans should not expect prices or inflation pressures to reverse overnight.
If Republicans retain control of Congress in the November midterm elections, Burlison said reducing spending and addressing federal health care costs should be among their highest priorities.
