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WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congressman Allen Boyd (D-North Florida), the leader of the Blue Dog Coalition and a member of the House Budget Committee, today voted for the fiscally responsible House Budget Resolution for Fiscal Year 2009 (H.Con.Res. 312), touting its strict adherence to pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) rules and other key provisions to reduce unnecessary spending and address long term fiscal challenges.
“My fellow Blue Dogs and I have been sounding the alarm and calling for fiscal responsibility for the past seven years,” said Congressman Boyd. “For those first six years under the current Administration, our calls fell on deaf ears, but no more. The House Budget Resolution, for the second year in a row, includes commonsense PAYGO spending rules and makes fiscal responsibility a guiding principle.”
Congressman Boyd worked with his colleagues on the House Budget Committee to include the following priorities in the budget resolution:
- Adherence to PAYGO budget discipline, a principle long advocated by Congressman Boyd and the Blue Dogs as a solution for putting an end to deficit spending and reducing the $9 trillion national debt.
- A commitment to provide adequate funding for our government’s number one priority: the defense of our country and its citizens. This budget provides for a strong national defense, matching the funding request in the President’s budget, and includes significant increases for veterans’ programs.
- Provides fiscally responsible tax relief for 23 million middle income Americans by paying for a fix to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT).
- Holds the line on mandatory spending levels, putting our country back on the path to fiscal responsibility.
- Puts an end to irresponsible deficit spending, providing for a budget surplus by 2012 and greater deficit reduction than the President’s budget.
- Cracks down on wasteful government spending within major government programs such as Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax enforcement.
The House Budget Resolution also does not raise taxes by one penny and leaves current tax cuts in place, providing for their responsible extension in the future. Under PAYGO rules, extensions of tax cuts, like all other policies, must be paid for and cannot be financed on borrowed money that we must pay back later with interest.
Additionally, this budget acknowledges that our federal government is on an unsustainable fiscal path of rising deficits and debt and that the most significant factor affecting the long term fiscal landscape is the expectation that total public and private health spending will continue to grow faster than the economy. The budget resolution contains an expressed commitment to address these long term fiscal challenges facing the country.
“I am proud to support a budget resolution that is honest about our fiscal future and does not shirk our responsibility to confront these serious fiscal issues head on, whether short term or long term,” Boyd stated. “With a national debt that has grown over $3 trillion under the current Administration, correcting the fiscal course of our country cannot happen overnight, but we are making steady progress through this fiscally responsible budget. I will continue to work everyday to chart a new, responsible fiscal course for the health and strength of our country.”
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