Senator Russ Feingold on PAYGO

June 9, 2009 -- “The President’s proposal for a new statutory budget enforcement tool is a step in the right direction, although we should go further. He is right to base his proposal on the pay-as-you-go rules that were in place during the 1990s which helped balance the federal budget.

"We know just how critical those rules were because after they expired Congress and the Bush Administration returned the country to fiscally reckless policies and produced the record-breaking deficits for which we are now paying. I’m pleased we finally reinstated the Senate’s pay-as-you-go budget rule a few years ago.

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"That Senate rule will help restore the fiscal discipline that we need now more than ever if we are going to stop running up budget-busting deficits and adding to the already enormous federal debt. Adding a statutory paygo rule on top of that, as the President proposes, will help, but it should cover all new mandatory spending and tax cuts. While I’d like to see an even tougher measure than the president is proposing, his announcement is a welcome step toward restoring fiscal responsibility.”

Senator Russ Feingold is a member of the Senate Budget Committee. Senator Feingold has sponsored or cosponsored efforts in the 110th, 109th, and 108th Congresses to reinstate paygo rules.

Source: Senator Russ Feingold