Smucker Makes Case for Bipartisan Fiscal Commission on 584 Vetoes Podcast

Image October 6, 2026 Press Release WASHINGTON — Rep. Lloyd Smucker (PA-11), Vice Chairman of the House Budget Committee and a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee, joined the 584 Vetoes podcast to discuss the nation’s $40 trillion national debt and the need for bipartisan action to put the country on a more sustainable fiscal path. The podcast was hosted by Brian Miller, MD, MBA, MPH, FACPM, a practicing hospitalist, Associate Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University, and a Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution. Listen here on Spotify | Listen here on YouTube | Listen Here on Apple Podcasts | Read more and listen here on Substack During the conversation with host Brian Miller, Smucker made the case for establishing a bipartisan fiscal commission that would bring lawmakers, experts, and the American people into a national conversation about the country’s fiscal future. “The commission would be a vehicle to discuss the options that we have available, and perhaps even more important, it would be a discussion with the American public,” Smucker said . “That, I think, is the value of a commission.” Smucker said he envisions a commission holding hearings across the country to engage Americans directly in understanding the nation’s fiscal challenges and the consequences of failing to address them. “People get that and people want to see us solve this,” Smucker said . “The commission would engage the public and then bring the experts in and provide the recommendations that would lead to that legislation.” Smucker also discussed the impact of the federal government spending more than $1 trillion annually on interest on the debt, the need to strengthen Social Security and Medicare for future generations, and the combination of stronger economic growth and responsible spending reforms necessary to improve the nation’s fiscal outlook. Smucker said the House Budget Committee has an important role to play in driving that conversation, describing the committee as the “conscience of the conference and of Congress” and saying it should hold Congress accountable while providing “the road map and the path to better fiscal policy.” The full episode of 584 Vetoes , “It’s Time for a Fiscal Commission to Fix the Debt with Congressman Lloyd Smucker,” is available here . # # # Issues : Budget Congress Economy & Jobs Health Care Values