As the Blue Dog Co-Chair for Communication, Ross applauded Chairman Spratt for including the following Blue Dog-advocated budget priorities: 

• Adherence to pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) budget discipline, a principle long advocated by the Blue Dogs as a solution for putting an end to deficit spending and reducing the nearly $9 trillion national debt;

• A commitment to the extension of statutory PAYGO requirements, a tool that was instrumental in the return of budget surpluses during the 1990s;

• A commitment to provide adequate funding for our government’s number one priority: the defense of our country and our citizens.  This budget provides for a strong national defense, matching the funding request in the President’s budget and providing increases in homeland security funding levels;

• Holding the line on mandatory spending levels, putting our country back on the path to fiscal responsibility; and,

• Putting an end to irresponsible deficit spending, providing for a budget surplus by 2012 and greater deficit reduction than the President’s budget over 5 years.

“I applaud Chairman Spratt for his commitment to two principles we as Blue Dogs believe are essential if a government is to be accountable to its people – a strong national defense and fiscal responsibility” said Ross Blue Dog Co-Chair for Communications.  “Since PAYGO requirements expired in 2002, out of control deficit spending has resulted in trillions of dollars in new national debt.  By returning to PAYGO budget discipline, this Budget Resolution takes the first step toward balancing the budget and returning our government to a fiscally responsible course.”

The conservative Blue Dog Coalition was formed in 1995 with the goal of representing the center of the House of Representatives and appealing to the mainstream values of the American public.  The Blue Dogs are dedicated to a core set of beliefs that transcend partisan politics, including a deep commitment to the financial stability and national security of the United States. Currently there are 44 members of the Blue Dog Coalition.

Ross has been a member of the fiscally conservative Democratic Blue Dog Coalition since he was first elected to represent Arkansas’s Fourth Congressional District in Congress in 2000.  He currently serves as Co-Chair for Communications and is one of four elected leaders of the Coalition.

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