Boyd Sends PAYGO Legislation To President's Desk

Press Release

A longtime advocate of reinstating pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) rules into law, U.S. Congressman Allen Boyd (D-North Florida) today heralded the House of Representative's passage of statutory PAYGO legislation as a landmark step toward restoring fiscal discipline and sent the bill to the President's desk for his signature.

"This is a tremendous victory for the American people. For far too long Washington avoided making the same tough financial decisions North Floridians are forced to make every day. But today we said enough is enough and we've got to stop digging ourselves deeper into debt," said Congressman Boyd. "Reinstating PAYGO is a critical first step toward improving the fiscal health of our nation and will allow us to focus on other challenges facing the American people, like finding a good job, buying a house, and saving for college or retirement."

PAYGO budgeting rules require any new spending to be offset by savings elsewhere in the federal budget, thus eliminating deficit spending and reducing the amount added to our national debt. When PAYGO was part of the federal budget rules in the 1990s it paved the way for balanced budgets and led to a $5.6 trillion projected surplus in 2000. In 2002 it was allowed to expire, turning this projected surplus into budget deficits and adding to the national debt.

Congressman Boyd has been a longtime advocate of improving the fiscal health of the nation. He authored the original PAYGO legislation that passed in the House and presided over today's debate.

In addition, Congressman Boyd -- along with his Blue Dog colleagues -- has created a plan that charts a course toward a smarter, more stable national budget. The 15 point plan contains bipartisan ideas to reduce our deficits, pay down our national debt, and balance the nation's checkbook. This Blueprint for Responsible Fiscal Reform is comprised of commonsense and proven spending practices that helped generate the balanced budgets and surpluses of the 1990s. It contains new ideas for restoring fiscal responsibility in Washington, as well as other initiatives he has advocated since first being elected, such as passing a balanced budget amendment and enacting tough spending caps. Read the full plan by clicking here.

Congressman Boyd concluded: "It is imperative that we get our fiscal house in order so that we can effectively confront the other critical challenges facing our country. Making tough choices now and putting the brakes on reckless spending will allow us to secure a more prosperous future for our children and grandchildren. The Senate has acted, the House has acted yet again, and I fully expect the President to sign this bill into law."

The House voted today to reinstate PAYGO rules following action by the U.S. Senate last week. The legislation will now head to the President for his signature.

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