U.S. House of Representative seal U.S. Representative Allyson Y. Schwartz
Representing the 13th Congressional District of Pennsylvania
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 22, 2009
 CONTACT:  Rachel Magnuson, 202-225-6111
 
House Budget Committee Vice Chair Schwartz’s
Statement on House Passage of PAYGO
 
Washington, D.C. – The U.S. House of Representatives today passed significant legislation aimed at reducing America’s deficit. The legislation, known as “pay-as-you-go,” or PAYGO, establishes in law the principle that Congress is required to pay for the costs of tax cuts or increases in entitlement spending with savings elsewhere in the budget.
 
As House Budget Committee Vice Chair, U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz (PA-13) has been a strong advocate for PAYGO. Schwartz spoke on the House floor earlier today to urge her colleagues to vote in favor of the PAYGO legislation.

Schwartz’s statement in support of the PAYGO legislation follows below.

“I rise today in support of HR 2920, the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2009.

“Pay-As-You-Go, or “PAYGO,” rules are fairly straight-forward:  Congress should pay for any new spending. There is a strong bipartisan history for PAYGO.

“In fact, in the 1990’s as a result of statutory PAYGO, this country saw record deficits transformed into surpluses.

“Sadly, when those statutory PAYGO provisions expired in 2002, the former Administration, with support from Congressional Republicans, ignored the common sense of paying for new spending – and turned our surplus into mounting national debt.

“But, Democrats are serious about fiscal responsibility.  In 2007 the Democratically-controlled House set PAYGO rules, making a commitment to make any new spending budget neutral. And, this year we have agreed on the goal of cutting the annual deficit in half in 4 years. 

“And now, with support from the current Administration, we are reinforcing our commitment to fiscal responsibility by giving PAYGO the force of law.

“As Vice-Chair of the House Budget Committee, I know how important it is to make wise, targeted investments for our future in energy, healthcare, and economic growth.  And we must do so in a way that is deficit neutral.  To do so, we must ensure that we pay for any new spending as we go.

“Statutory PAYGO is smart budgetary policy.  It is common sense.  And most importantly, it will help guarantee our nation’s financial security.  I urge support for fiscal responsibility by voting yes on the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2009.”

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