Congress Budget for the United States Government for Fiscal Year 2009--Continued

Floor Speech

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET FOR THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009--Continued -- (Senate - March 13, 2008)

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The Senator from Texas [Mr. CORNYN] proposes an amendment numbered 4313.

Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

The amendment is as follows:
(Purpose: To protect the family budget from runaway Government spending by increasing the number of Senators necessary to waive the PAYGO Point of Order from 60 to 100)

At the end of title II, insert the following:

SEC. __. INCREASING THE NUMBER OF SENATORS NECESSARY TO WAIVE PAYGO POINT OF ORDER FROM 60 TO 100.

Section 201(b) of S. Con. Res. 21 (110th Congress) is amended by striking ``three-fifths'' both places it appears and inserting ``all''.

Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, my amendment concerns pay-go or pay-as-you-go. Right now pay-go may be waived if 60 Senators support doing so. My amendment would strengthen the pay-go provision by requiring that all 100 Members of the Senate support waiving pay-go before it may be waived.

Pay-go is so riddled with exceptions that the Wall Street Journal has referred to it as the ``pay-go farce.'' If the Senate is serious about fiscal discipline and believes that pay-go is a useful tool in helping control Government spending, then the Senate should be unanimous in passing any bill that violates pay-go, a tool the majority, including members of the Budget Committee, has advocated as a way to keep check on expanding or creating a new Government program. It has been criticized because it does not apply to discretionary spending and has failed to constrain the growth in entitlement programs.

Pay-go needs to be honest. There needs to be truth in legislating when it comes to appropriations. I ask my colleagues to support this amendment.

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