|
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Pete Visclosky issued the following statement today after voting in the House of Representatives to enact “Pay-As-You-Go” legislation, or PAYGO, into law. The bill requires Congress to offset all new policies that reduce revenues or expand entitlement spending over five and ten years. If the net effect of all new tax and entitlement legislation enacted during a session of Congress increased the deficit, there would be an automatic across-the-board cut in certain mandatory programs. It is similar to the PAYGO law that was in place in the 1990s, which helped create a balanced budget and economic growth. The House passed PAYGO today and it will now go to the President to be signed into law:
“I believe that Congress has an obligation to budget taxpayer dollars in an efficient, effective, and responsible manner. Balancing the federal budget and keeping it balanced should continue to be one of this country’s top priorities. I was proud to cast my vote today to enact the PAYGO fiscal discipline policy into law.
“Despite people’s skepticism that it is impossible to balance the federal budget, it is important to recall that it was balanced during the Clinton Administration. In fact, we paid off more than $401 billion of the national debt. One of the tools that were available to President Clinton and to the Congress at that time was the so-called PAYGO rule. It is just what it sounds like: we have to pay as we go.
“Admittedly, PAYGO was not the only reason we had a balanced budget a decade ago and it will not solve all of our problems, but it is an important enforcement tool. The law we passed today is not perfect and there are exceptions to it, but it does work an improvement and demonstrate a commitment on our part to getting the budget back in order.” |
|
|
