Heinrich Helps Restore Fiscal Responsibility In Congress
Statement
Rep. Heinrich is an original cosponsor of H.R. 2920, which reestablishes the statutory "pay-as-you-go" (PAYGO) requirements that helped turn deficits into surpluses during the 1990s under the Clinton Administration. Reinstating the budget discipline of PAYGO is based on the simple principle of paying for what we buy. In order to successfully implement important programs for the American people we need to make sure that we are protecting the Nation's fiscal health, too.
Speaking on the House floor this morning about H.R. 2920, Rep. Heinrich said:
"It represents a return to the responsible budgeting principles that we saw in the 1990s. During that time the federal government made difficult fiscal decisions, but those tough choices took our country from record deficits to record surpluses. Yet, the Bush Administration abandoned PAYGO in 2002 and our country has returned to record deficits that have since doubled our national debt we owe it to the working families that elected us to match their tough household budgeting decisions during these difficult economic times. We must once again commit to reduce our national deficit and to tighten the purse strings here in Washington."
The PAYGO bill is similar to the statutory PAYGO law that was in place in the 1990s, which helped turn massive deficits into record surpluses. The Republican-controlled Congress allowed these rules to expire in 2002, which contributed to the dramatic turnaround from a projected surplus of $5.6 trillion to projected deficits of more than $11 trillion.
H.R. 2920 would require Congress to offset the costs of tax cuts or increases in entitlement spending with savings elsewhere in the budget. If the net effect of all legislation enacted during a session of Congress increased the deficit because Congress has not succeeded in paying for all the new costs that it has enacted, there would be an across-the-board reduction in certain mandatory programs, known as a sequester.
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