Mr. Speaker:
Today Congress will adopt a rule requiring us to do what every other American taxpayer must do with its family finances. Something very simple and very basic: Pay for what we spend.
10 years ago, thinking somehow it didn't need any outside fiscal discipline, Congress abandoned this common-sense approach, wasted our federal budget surpluses and spent itself into a spending frenzy--doubling the national debt. And now we face the largest budget deficit in our nation's history.
Our government cannot continue to borrow and spend, create ever higher levels of debt and pass along the costs of paying for it all to our children and grandchildren.
We are now relying on trillions of dollars of money borrowed from China and Middle Eastern oil states to pay our bills. This can't continue.
It is time to grow up, act like responsible adults and return to fiscal sanity.
With this measure, any new spending that passes through this chamber must be deficit neutral. Combined with a renewed commitment to cut wasteful spending of all types, this is a long overdue essential first step toward a return to fiscal responsibility which will reassure our creditors and demonstrate to the American public that we deserve to govern.
I salute my Blue Dog colleagues and Leader Hoyer for their leadership and persistence on bringing this critical issue to a vote. And I urge my colleagues to support this simple, common sense bill. I yield back the balance of my time.
Minnick speech on PAYGO legislation
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