Standing at more than $19 trillion, U.S. national debt has nearly doubled during President Obama’s seven years in office – a number that should cause our commander in chief to sound the alarm, not shrug it off.

Read Sen. Coats’ comments:

In his final State of the Union address earlier this year, President Obama stated that he wanted “to focus on the next five years, the next 10 years and beyond.” But throughout his remarks, he failed to discuss one of the most important issues our country faces in the coming years: our $19 trillion national debt.

Despite all the financial obligations that will eventually come due in the “beyond” years, the president never addressed the topics of fiscal sustainability and debt reduction. This omission was glaring, given how our national debt has risen sharply over the past seven years, from $10.6 trillion when Obama took office to over $19 trillion today.

This accumulation of staggering levels of debt is nothing short of reckless, and the current trajectory for federal spending obligations, deficits and debt will only get worse over time. According to a recently released report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, in 10 years spending on mandatory spending programs and interest on the debt will consume nearly 99 percent of all federal revenue. This will crowd out funding for other important priorities like national defense and medical research.

It’s time to rein in our spending before our debts give us any more trouble at home and abroad. Click here to help Tea Party Patriots urge lawmakers to adopt commonsense spending practices that would balance the budget within five years!