The Budget Deficit

The American people are becoming increasingly concerned about the deficit and the national debt.  It is clear that we must act to regain control of our budget.

Earlier this year, the President signed into law the PAYGO legislation. PAYGO is a proven budget tool for helping turn deficits into surpluses. Its concept is simple; no new spending or tax cuts can be approved unless they are paid for by finding spending cuts or revenue elsewhere in the budget.

PAYGO was in effect during the 1990s, and it helped contribute to the budget surplus at the end of that decade.  However, it was allowed to expire in 2002, and soon after the budget went from a surplus of $236 billion in 2000 to a deficit of $459 billion in 2008.

As a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition in the House, I worked with my colleagues to enact the PAYGO budget rule so that it would be the law of the land.  It will help create fiscal discipline and make it harder for the President or Congress to engage in non-emergency deficit spending.

With climbing deficits, it's more critical than ever that we "pay as we go", rather than push costs of budget changes onto our children.