Picture this: A family of four earns $50,000 a year but spends $69,000 a year. This seems unsustainable, right? That’s because it is.

Yet, the federal government does that every day — in the trillions of dollars — all with your money. This year, President Biden presented Congress with a whopping $6.9 trillion budget. Meanwhile, the federal government is projected to receive $5 trillion in hard-earned taxpayer dollars. That leaves us with a massive $1.9 trillion budget deficit.

Couple that record spending with back-and-forth budget talks and the product is a renewed threat of a government shutdown at the end of this month. That’s why, as budget negotiations heat up and the Sept. 30 deadline looms, I believe it’s incredibly important for Americans to know what Congress is debating — and it’s not the full budget.

Nearly 73% of the entire federal budget is considered “mandatory” spending — meaning it is effectively on autopilot unless Congress changes laws governing these programs. This includes programs such as Social Security and Medicare. This portion also includes the interest we owe on the national debt, which this year is a staggering $663 billion.

The second category is “discretionary” spending. Discretionary spending is not automatic and is voted on in the annual appropriations (budget) process. This is just 27% of our budget, according to the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. Discretionary spending includes funding for things like education, transportation and infrastructure, and our military.

Over the years, the percentage of mandatory versus discretionary spending has drastically shifted. According to the Peterson Foundation, “In the 1960s, two-thirds of total federal spending went to fund discretionary programs.” Today, it’s less than one-third.

We are set to spend more on the interest of the national debt than we will on our entire defense spending in 2028, according to Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projections. The federal government already spends more on the interest of the national debt than on veterans’ benefits, transportation and education.

I hear from so many folks who are tired of the runaway spending. I agree. That’s why it’s critically important for the American people to know just what is — and what is not — actually up for debate during the appropriations process.

The 27% in discretionary spending is the only portion of the budget Congress can directly address year-to-year. I agree that we can certainly find ways to save money in that category. But it’s a small piece of the pie as we debate the budget each year.

Because we can only work with a fraction of the budget, it’s increasingly important for members of Congress to stop worrying about saying the wrong thing and start worrying about doing the right thing.

This brings me back to what I like to call “Kitchen Table Economics” and your family’s $50,000 budget. Imagine if you faced the $19,000 a year household deficit but you couldn’t touch 73% of the budget as you’re trying to make ends meet. Congress faces that challenge every year.

Debating the federal budget goes hand-in-hand with the larger debate over Washington’s addiction to spending. That’s why it’s also important for Americans to understand why the majority of my Republican colleagues and I joined Democrats to raise the debt ceiling in May. My answer is simple: America must pay its debts. We must also be ready to pay our bills in the year ahead. That’s what raising the debt ceiling allows us to do.

Perhaps most importantly: The legislation used to lift the debt ceiling, known as the Fiscal Responsibility Act, also paved the way for trillions of dollars in savings over the next decade. House Republicans have made good on our promise to rein in runaway federal spending. Government didn’t accumulate record-high national debt overnight. Reducing that debt won’t happen overnight, either. Ongoing budget negotiations will allow us to continue building on that fiscal responsibility.

This year, as talks of a government shutdown began months before the September deadline, Fitch Ratings downgraded the United States credit rating from “AAA” — its top mark — to “AA+” citing “a steady deterioration in standards of governance over the last 20 years, including on fiscal and debt matters.” This is the result of the current process, one that is making the American people lose the faith, trust, and confidence in their government.

It’s vital that Congress work together to meaningfully address today’s problems while keeping an eye on tomorrow through a realistic lens. It’s equally as important for Biden to meet Congress halfway, especially in a divided government.

I encourage everyone to look at the budget Congress has been given, both mandatory and discretionary spending. The part we are debating is smaller than you might think.

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Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly represents Pennsylvania’s 16th Congressional District. He is chairman of the Ways & Means Subcommittee on Tax.

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