Issue Position: Reducing the National Debt

Issue Position

America's national debt is a national concern. Most American families understand how a rising national deficit can hurt future generations. That's why I support reducing our national debt to restore global faith in our domestic economy. When we pay down the nation's debt, we work to balance the national budget and restore good fiscal policies in Washington.

That's why Congressman Cuellar is a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition in Congress. This 54 member democratic coalition is committed to restoring responsible spending in Washington and they've worked hard to bring back the budget rules of the 1990s which helped turned then record deficits into record surpluses.

In 2010, the Blue Dog Coalition championed the return of Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) Spending Rules for Congress. PAYGO spending rules helped create a projected $5.6 trillion surplus in 2001 by ensuring that every dollar spent is offset by another dollar of savings elsewhere. Unfortunately in 2002, Congress let PAYGO rules expire and by 2010, the nation saw a record $12 trillion deficit.

This February, Congress and the President brought PAYGO back into law, by passing the vitally important through both the House and Senate. To learn more about PAYGO, please click here.

Real, Immediate Reforms

This February, the Blue Dog Coalition introduced the Blue Dog Blueprint for Fiscal Reform. This 15 point plan includes a vitally important piece of legislation Congressman Cuellar authored known as "Performance Based Budgeting" or PBB. This plan will require all federal agencies to submit quarterly reviews to the public on how effectively they've allocated federal dollars. By requiring agencies to submit transparent spending reports, Congress can put good common sense

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