'$58,000 per second': Member wants debt clock displayed in House chamber

Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) last week introduced a resolution that would place a clock measuring the U.S. debt in the House chamber as a "visual gesture" that reminds members of the need to reduce spending.

"We are currently borrowing $58,000 per second," Reed said last week. "We borrow at least forty cents of each dollar we spend. That is unsustainable. The debt clock will be a distinct reminder that our national debt must always be our first consideration as we continue to spend money that we do not have."

Reed noted that the total U.S. debt reached $1.5 trillion in the U.S.'s first 193 years, but said the country will add that much in red ink in the current fiscal year.

"The voters of the 29th district of New York elected me to get our spending and borrowing under control," Reed said. "We must never lose sight of that fact that our children and grandchildren will quite literally pay tomorrow for the decisions made today."

Reed's bill, H.Res. 228, was referred to the Committee on House Administration.