By Steve Brawner, © 2019 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

While the nation’s attention was divided between President Trump’s back-and-forth with Democratic congresswomen and Robert Mueller’s upcoming testimony, negotiators this week crafted a deal that may “end up being the worst budget agreement in our nation’s history.”

That description came from Maya McGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

The agreement was reached by President Trump’s Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and it was announced by an enthusiastic Trump tweet.

The deal suspends the federal debt ceiling until July 31, 2021 – after next year’s election. Suspending the ceiling wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing under other circumstances; frankly, we probably need to ditch it permanently. It accomplishes no purpose other than creating periodic crises that rattle financial markets and make the United States look like it can’t get its act together.

The problem is the deal eliminates spending limits created in 2011 that actually did slow the national debt’s growth a little. Since those will be gone, we’ll spend an additional $320 billion over the next two years on both defense and non-defense expenditures – paid for by borrowing, as always. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says the deal could add as much as $1.7 trillion to the national debt over a decade.

That debt is already more than $22 trillion, or about $67,000 for every American. It was less than $6 trillion in 2000, which means it’s increased $16 trillion in 19 years. In fact, of the $4.1 trillion the government spends annually, about it a quarter of it is borrowed – part of it from foreign entities.

If Trump signs the bill, he will have approved a 22% increase in discretionary spending during his first term.

Discretionary spending is the type that Congress appropriates yearly, as opposed to “mandatory” spending, which includes programs on autopilot such as Social Security and Medicare.

Mandatory programs compose the majority of the budget and are expanding because the population is aging and health care is so expensive. They will be the primary cause of future debt growth, which some officeholders, usually Republicans, acknowledge. But then Republicans too often join with Democrats in approving discretionary spending increases as well. It’s like they’re saying, “I’m going to eat this second piece of cake because I’m gaining weight anyway.”

Do you remember those bumper stickers that read “Please don’t tell Obama what comes after trillion”? We’re already there again. In fact, the debt grew by more than $1.25 trillion last fiscal year.

The difference is that part of the red ink during those early Obama years could be blamed on a recession that started before he entered office and on wars that started under his predecessor. This year’s trillion is occurring in peacetime and during a (temporarily) strong economy.

This is all happening because of inertia, irresponsibility and a lack of political will. Congress and the president insist on spending more money without paying for it through higher taxes. And because they can’t agree on any hard choices, they’ll just give everyone what they want – more for defense for Republicans, more for other programs for Democrats – and pat themselves on the back for their “compromise.”

Meanwhile, once again, the cost is being passed to future taxpayers, including those not even born yet. Talk about taxation without representation!

The agreement still must be approved by both houses of Congress before going to the president’s desk. I polled the six members of Arkansas’ congressional delegation. Sen. John Boozman’s office said the senator wants to review the agreement and see what the House approves before deciding what to do. Rep. Bruce Westerman’s office said he does not typically comment on legislation before he votes because it often changes. I did not receive answers from the rest, but it had only been a day since the deal was announced.

Regardless, this deal will be enacted because the president and congressional leaders in both parties want it to pass. In addition to Pelosi, Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, and Charles Schumer, D-New York, and Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-California, are totally for it.

The House is expected to approve it this week before going home for recess. The Senate has another week to OK it.

What ever happened to not getting to go to recess if you didn’t do what you were supposed to do?

Steve Brawner is a syndicated columnist in Arkansas. Email him at brawnersteve@mac.com. Follow him on Twitter at @stevebrawner.