WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Jim Himes (CT-4) helped pass bipartisan legislation late yesterday that requires new legislation to meet the “pay-as-you-go” (PAYGO) standard, meaning any new mandatory government spending must be matched with budget cuts or savings elsewhere. The legislation, cosponsored by Congressman Himes, will reign in federal spending and help restore fiscal discipline.
“Along with President Obama, my colleagues and I are committed to the principle that America must pay for what it buys,” said Congressman Himes. “There is no reason Congress shouldn’t be held to the same spending discipline Connecticut families live by every day.”
PAYGO will allow investment in America’s most important priorities and force the tough choices necessary to cut wasteful spending, reign in the deficit, and reduce the national debt. It will force a serious examination of wasteful subsidies in the budget and tax loopholes that can be eliminated to offset more worthwhile programs. Reinstating statutory PAYGO is an important first step toward restoring fiscal discipline, but must be accompanied by hard work to control the rapidly-rising costs of entitlement programs.
Congressman Himes has a record of fighting for fiscal discipline in Congress. He cosponsored legislation to stop the automatic pay raise for members of Congress and has been a staunch advocate of careful oversight of the Toxic Asset Relief Program (TARP). Additionally, the Congressman cosponsored legislation to bring increased accountability to earmarks, adopting a policy for his own office that forbids campaign contributions from institutions for which he has requested an appropriation. He has also crossed the aisle nine times to support a Republican provision to force an investigation into the connection between campaign contributions and earmarks.
For more information, visit the PAYGO clearing house here.
View video of the Congressman’s floor statement on PAYGO here. For a wmv file, click here.