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Rules of the House

Floor Speech

Date: Jan. 5, 2011
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Government Budget and Spending

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Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, deficit reduction requires tough choices, and PAYGO helps us make those tough choices because, if you increase spending, you have to pay for it--either raise the money or cut spending somewhere else. If you cut taxes, you have to raise somebody else's taxes or cut some programs. You have to pay for it.

In 1993, under PAYGO and a tough Democratic budget, we eliminated the deficit and were on our way to paying off the national debt. We created millions of jobs. Unfortunately, 50 Democrats lost their seats in a budget that the Democrats voted for but that not a single Republican voted for. These are tough choices. Unfortunately, this package fails to make those tough choices because it exempts trillions of dollars from PAYGO.

Mr. Speaker, you are simply not having a serious discussion about deficit reduction when the discussion begins with massive tax cuts which will add trillions of dollars to the national debt without beginning to pay for them at all. We need to get serious about deficit reduction, and this package does not do it.

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