Wilson Votes For Budget Discipline

Press Release

Today, Rep. Charlie Wilson (OH-6) took a critical step toward restoring our nation's fiscal health by voting for pay-as-you-go, or PAYGO, legislation which ensures that all new spending is paid for. PAYGO helped take the federal government from deficits to surpluses in the 1990s. It requires Congress to pay for all tax cuts and new or increased entitlement programs with savings elsewhere in the budget. The PAYGO legislation now goes to President Obama for his signature.

"As a Blue Dog Democrat focused on fiscal discipline, I have supported PAYGO since I've been in Congress," Wilson said. "It's key to reigning in deficit spending and ultimately bringing down our exploding debt."

The PAYGO bill passed today is a critical part of Democratic efforts to restore fiscal responsibility. It is based on the bipartisan PAYGO law that was in place in the 1990s and helped turn massive deficits into record surpluses. President Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress allowed this law 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.

Since then, House Democrats have been leading the fight to restore fiscal discipline -- first adding PAYGO to House rules upon regaining the majority in 2007. Now, with the Senate's recent passage and today's House passage, PAYGO will once again have the force of law. PAYGO will help protect against reckless, debt-financed tax cuts, while ensuring the budget has room to invest in critical areas like job creation, education and health care.

"Continuing to live off of our credit cards and leaving mountains of debt for our children and grandchildren to pay off is not only irresponsible, it's a recipe for economic disaster," Wilson said. "I'm so pleased that Congress is sending the President a common sense bill that will help get us back on a financial path to prosperity."

PAYGO has enjoyed bipartisan support. It was first enacted by a Republican President and Democratic Congress in 1990, extended by a Democratic President and Republican Congress in 1998, and won 24 Republican votes when the House passed it last July.

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