Sen. Rick Scott: Government Must Balance Budget Like Families Do

Sen. Rick Scott said Congress must take a family-style approach to federal budgeting — reviewing every line, assigning a purpose, and ensuring the government lives within its means — calling for an annually balanced budget to tame the nation's growing debt.

Appearing on "Fox News Sunday," the Florida Republican emphasized that the federal government must overhaul its budgeting process, arguing that lawmakers should treat the nation's finances the same way American households manage their own.

"You do what every family does," Scott said. "You go through your budget and say, 'That is nice to have, but we don't make that much money.'"

Scott's comments come amid renewed scrutiny of the federal budget following President Donald Trump's push to claw back $9.4 billion in previously appropriated spending — much of it earmarked for foreign aid and what the administration calls wasteful or liberal-leaning programs. Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought told the House Appropriations Committee last week that more rescission packages could follow if Congress approves the initial request.

Scott, a vocal supporter of Trump and fiscal restraint, praised Vought's leadership and aligned with the administration's goal to curb spending. "First of all, thank you, Russ Vought," Scott said. "He, like President Trump, cares about the budget and reducing spending, and he will fight really hard to make sure that happens."

Scott warned, however, that even as Republicans work to pass Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act and resist Democrat tax proposals, lawmakers must not lose focus on reducing the national debt.

"We have to get this bill passed, and we have to stop this gigantic tax increase that Democrats are all for," Scott said. "We have to secure the border and plus up our military, but we have to get debt under control."

He noted that U.S. debt is about $37 trillion and criticized the continuation of trillion-dollar deficits even after the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Year after year ... after pandemic spending, we've been running the 2 trillion dollar deficits," he said. "To get interest rates [and] inflation under control—which is part of what this last election was about—we have to balance this budget."

He added, "When I was governor of Florida, I went through every line — 4,000 lines — I went through every line every year, with written purpose, and we balanced the budget every year. Florida had not balanced the budget in 20 years.

"The federal government has to do the same thing. Go through the budget."

Scott also called on lawmakers to match spending to available revenue. "The public has given us five and a half trillion dollars, hopefully," he said. "I believe Trump will improve the economy so revenues will go up, but that's what they've given us. We have to say to ourselves: How do we allocate the dollars based on the amount of money taxpayers are giving us?"

"We have to have a path to balance the budget, and that's what my focus is," he said. "How do we get the president's agenda done, and how do we balance the budget?"