The Blue Dog Coalition
Chronic deficits and a growing national debt put upward pressure on interest rates, increasing the cost of borrowing for every American. This, in turn, reduces household income, reduces private investment, and jeopardizes future economic growth – all of which threaten the well-being of hard-working American families.
The $9+ trillion debt our country has irresponsibly accumulated will need to be paid back—and it will be paid back by our children and grandchildren. The interest paid on the national debt is one of the fastest growing parts of the federal budget and dwarfs the size of spending on critical priorities such as education, homeland security, and veterans' health care. The choices we are making today will impact what we will be able to provide tomorrow. Quite simply, I believe that we should be investing in our children's future, not borrowing from it.
Even worse, 80 cents out of every dollar borrowed is coming from foreign investors such as China, Japan, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. During the seven years the Bush Administration has been in office, the level of foreign-owned debt has more than doubled and currently, nearly half of our nation's total debt is owned by foreign countries, making the U.S. increasingly beholden to them.
Since being elected to Congress, I have worked to restore budget discipline and force the government to live within its means—just as every family across America must live within its own budget. The fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition has led the charge to ensure Congress adheres to fiscal discipline. I, along with my fellow Blue Dog colleagues, believe we must get back on the road to fiscal responsibility before we pass the nation's keys — and our debt—onto our children and grandchildren.
Priorities
• PAYGO: The Blue Dog Coalition was instrumental in persuading the current 110th Congress to reinstate the long-expired pay-as-you-go (“PAYGO”) rules. PAYGO rules are simple—they require that all spending increases and tax cuts are full paid for. PAYGO rules were part of the tough budgetary measures used throughout the 1990s that brought our country from then-record deficits to surpluses for the first time since 1969. Restoring budget discipline and getting back on a path to budget surpluses will ensure that America is economically strong and not beholden to foreign nations, Social Security and Medicare are not raided, and that the burden of paying down the national debt is not placed on the backs of our children and grandchildren. This simple principle has already helped to bring some much needed sanity to our fiscal situation. |
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Accomplishments
• The Blue Dog Coalition is committed to strengthening the current PAYGO rules and I am proud to be a co-sponsor of H.R. 2686, which would extend the PAYGO rules through 2012.
See the bill as introduced
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