The Joint Committee on Capital Improvement Committee met this week. This committee is responsible for writing the annual Bond Bill. 

The committee is made up of 6 members of the House and 6 members of the Senate. Because the Democrats have the majorities in the Senate and the House, they hold eight of the 12 seats and provide the committee leadership.

Senator Jack Walsh is this year’s chair and Representative Debra Heffereman is the co-chair.

Senator Dave Wilson and I are the Republican members of the committee.

Hearings were held Monday through Thursday during which state agency leaders presented their budget requests.

The purpose of this column is not to detail those requests, but to point out one of the major concerns addressed by committee members during the hearings.

The major concern? 

How cost-cutting measures at the federal level will affect Delaware’s budget.

Democrat Senator Spiros Mantzavinos made it a point to ask almost every presenter how the risk of losing federal funds would affect their plans.

I agree that this is an important question and planners should be thinking about how to adjust to the loss or reduction in federal funds.

Following the last day of hearings, I asked for time to speak about a concern related to the federal funding.

On Wednesday April 2, at 6:56 p.m. I recorded the figures from the National Debt Clock.

At that time the national debt was $36,675,453,000,000. The last six digits of the clock were spinning so fast, I could not give an exact amount, thus the series of zeros.

The debt per taxpayer came to $323,048. For a household with two taxpayers the share of the debt came to $646,096.

In most areas of the nation $646,096 will buy you a very nice home. You can’t use that money for a mortgage, though. The federal government has already spent that money thanks to the men and women we have sent to Washington, D.C. in past decades.

The federal expenditure for Medicare/Medicaid this year totals $1,673,050,000,000.

The federal expenditure for Social Security totals $1,499,829,000,000.

What should concern any hard-working American is that the annual interest on federal debt is now $1,015,631,000,000.

The annual expenditure for defense of our nation is  $890,721,000,000.

We are spending more to cover the interest owed on the debt than on protecting our homeland.

We do not yet know the impact that will be felt by our state agencies and the overall state budget because of the loss of federal funds, but we need to start thinking of how to adjust.

This has already started.

WHYY reported on Thursday that the state will take the $50 million it planned to spend in fiscal year 2026 on expanding Legislative Hall to help cover losses in federal funding.

More projects may have to be put on hold. We cannot depend on the federal government for funding when it has to borrow money to keep operating.

Budget forecast 

Delaware’s budget this year will increase by more than 7 percent as currently projected. 

Our current revenue forecast is just under 2 percent projected growth.

That means two things. 

One, the state’s budget smoothing fund of over $400 million will likely be tapped into.

Two, talk has already started about the need to increase the income tax and other taxes and fees.

My take?

In the private sector when revenues fall short, responsible business managers and owners look for ways to cut expenses, a belt-tightening if you will.

I believe state agencies can find a way to trim costs, too, but as far as I know have never been asked to do so.

I’ve heard it said that the state must make sure everyone is paying their ‘fair share’ of taxes.

How much of the money that you earn through your talent and labor do you think the government should be allowed to take from you to spend?

I will not be voting for any tax or fee increases.