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Reducing the Debt
Reducing the Nation's Debt
America's national debt is a national concern. Most American families understand how a rising national deficit can hurt future generations. That's why I support reducing our national debt to restore global faith in our domestic economy. When we pay down the nation's debt, we work to balance the national budget and restore good fiscal policies in Washington.
That's why Congressman Cuellar is a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition in Congress. This 54 member democratic coalition is committed to restoring responsible spending in Washington and they've worked hard to bring back the budget rules of the 1990s which helped turned then record deficits into record surpluses.
In 2010, the Blue Dog Coalition championed the return of Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) Spending Rules for Congress. PAYGO spending rules helped create a projected $5.6 trillion surplus in 2001 by ensuring that every dollar spent is offset by another dollar of savings elsewhere. Unfortunately in 2002, Congress let PAYGO rules expire and by 2010, the nation saw a record $12 trillion deficit.
This February, Congress and the President brought PAYGO back into law, by passing the vitally important through both the House and Senate. To learn more about PAYGO, please click here.
Real, Immediate Reforms
This February, the Blue Dog Coalition introduced the Blue Dog Blueprint for Fiscal Reform. This 15 point plan includes a vitally important piece of legislation Congressman Cuellar authored known as "Performance Based Budgeting" or PBB. This plan will require all federal agencies to submit quarterly reviews to the public on how effectively they've allocated federal dollars. By requiring agencies to submit transparent spending reports, Congress can put good common sense policy towards common practice problems in our federal government.
To learn more about the Blue Dog Blueprint for Fiscal Reform, please click here.
Blue Dog Plan is Common Sense Legislation to:
1. Put a lid on federal spending: By setting limits on discretionary spending we can immediately restore good fiscal policies in Washington and help reduce the nation's debt.
2. Reduce the debt: This rule will force Washington to operate within a budget.
3. Bi-partisan debt commission: A fiscal reform commission should be created to ensure Congress is held accountable for its budgeting practices and the impact that has on our nation's debt.
4. Improve transparency and accountability: This measure would root out the estimated $98 billion in annual federal agency waste in overspending.
House Passes Cuellar Accountability Bill
The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed on June 16, 2010 an unprecedented government accountability bill authored by Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28), who championed similar legislation in Texas. The landmark legislation requires unparalleled public reporting from federal agencies four times a year and would make these performance reports available to the public and to Congress. The bipartisan legislation aims to reduce government waste by shining light on how government agencies perform.
The landmark legislation requires unparalleled public reporting from federal agencies four times a year and would make these performance reports available to the public and to Congress. The bipartisan legislation aims to reduce government waste by shining light on how government agencies perform.
"This unprecedented legislation will save taxpayer dollars by shining light on how federal agencies perform," said Congressman Cuellar. "With this bill, Congress can make more informed decisions as we fund federal agencies and their programs. Better information yields better results, and these reports will help us invest in what works and fix what doesn’t."
H.R. 2142, the Government Efficiency, Effectiveness and Performance Improvement Act of 2010, authored by Congressman Cuellar, is results-oriented legislation to reduce government waste. The bill requires federal agencies to set high-value goals that benefit the American people and make public quarterly assessments on how they’ve met those goals. The legislation is built on providing cost-savings for the taxpayer through more effective, efficient government spending.
The bipartisan legislation is a component of the fiscally-conservative Blue Dog Coalition’s Blue Dog Blueprint for Fiscal Reform. H.R. 2142 is also supported by the Taxpayers for Common Sense, Center for American Progress Action Fund and Robert Shea, Associate OMB Director under President George W. Bush, in addition to Congressman Todd Platts (R-PA) who has worked on similar legislation in Congress over the past decade.
Nationally, 25 states, including Texas, have incorporated some form of performance-based budgeting to rein-in state spending and reduce government waste, fraud and abuse. Similar, but less stringent, policies have been instituted at the federal level since the 1990s. Congressman Cuellar’s legislation goes beyond those efforts by requiring more aggressive and frequent reporting, in addition to a rigorous government oversight.
"This will give Congress and the public a new tool to keep tabs on what our federal agencies are doing and how effectively they are spending taxpayer dollars," said Congressman Cuellar. "This is a commonsense concept that will benefit every taxpayer."
H.R. 2142, the Government Efficiency, Effectiveness and Performance Improvement Act of 2010, does the following:
Sets Clear Goals: Requires federal agencies to set clear performance goals and establish a strategy for achieving those standardsRequires
Public Reports: Requires federal agencies to report on a quarterly basis to the public and to Congress how effectively they are working to meet those goals, including posting reports online
Holds Agencies Accountable: Holds federal agency heads accountable by instituting stringent new reporting standards aimed towards a more effective, performance-based government
Increases Transparency: Delivers to Congress and the American people comprehensive information, that is unavailable now, so Congress can make more informed budgeting decisions in the future
To view a fact sheet on Congressman Cuellar’s government efficiency bill, please visit:
http://www.cuellar.house.gov/UploadedFiles/Cuellar_Better_Budget_Bill_Fact_Sheet.pdf
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