PAYGO Helps Address Deficit Concerns
By: U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis

At a time when the White House is attempting to position the Republican Party as fiscally responsible, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan bluntly said in his new book "The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World" that his Party over the past several years put politics over fiscal discipline and lower government spending.

During the past several years while we were witnessing the largest growth of government since the 1960s and a ballooning deficit, Mr. Greenspan was correct in advocating for a return to pay-as-you-go rules. These rules, re-enacted earlier this year after they helped restore fiscal discipline in Washington during the 1990s, require Congress to offset the cost of new spending or tax cuts with savings elsewhere.

The Blue Dog Coalition, a growing band of deficit hawk Democrats with a deep commitment to the financial stability and national security of the United States, had been pushing to re-implement PAYGO for several years. Their bark was finally heard earlier this year when they pushed the new Congressional leadership to enforce the policy.

When PAYGO was in place in the 1990's, spending as a percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP) declined from 22.1% to 18.5% by 2001. As a result, huge budget deficits became a budget surplus. Shortly after President Bush took office, the Congress unwisely let PAYGO expire causing an explosion in government spending and yearly budget deficits. Our national debt grew by $3 trillion over this period, and by 2005 spending had clawed its way back to 20.1% of GDP.

U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis represents the 4th Congressional District and is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition.