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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 supported the passage of the fiscally responsible budget conference agreement for Fiscal Year 2009, highlighting its strict adherence to pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) rules and other key provisions to reduce unnecessary spending and address long term fiscal challenges. This budget plan marks the first time that Congress has passed a budget during an election year since 2000.
“I take my commitment to fiscal responsibility very seriously, and this budget is another example of how this Congress is working to live up to this commitment,” said Congressman Boyd. “My fellow Blue Dogs and I have been sounding the alarm on our fiscal problems for the past seven years. For those first six years under the current Administration, our calls fell on deaf ears, and we saw record deficits, an explosion of debt, and now a sluggish economy. Well, no more. By making fiscal discipline a guiding principle, the budgets of the past two years embrace a new era of fiscal responsibility.”
Congressman Boyd worked with his colleagues on the House Budget Committee to include the following priorities in the budget conference report:
- 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).
- A commitment to the extension of statutory PAYGO requirements, a tool that was instrumental to the return of budget surpluses during the 1990s.
- Puts an end to irresponsible deficit spending, providing for a balanced budget by 2012 and greater deficit reduction than the President’s budget over five years;
- Cracks down on wasteful government spending within major government programs and instructs House committees to conduct regular performance reviews of these programs and recommend legislative and administrative measures to improve them.
The budget conference report 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. The budget resolution contains an expressed commitment for the legislative and executive branches to take immediate, bipartisan action to address these long term fiscal challenges facing the country.
“I am proud to support a budget 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. “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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