Congressman Gerry Connolly voted for fiscal discipline in Congress by supporting “pay-as-you-go” legislation – better known as PAYGO – which ensures that all new spending passed by Congress is paid for, instead of adding to the federal deficit.  The bill now goes to the President for his signature.

Connolly, who has been a strong advocate in Congress for measures to reduce the federal deficit, said, “By passing statutory PAYGO today, the House along with the Senate has taken a necessary step to put us back on the path of fiscal restraint.”

Connolly has pushed to use excess TARP bank bailout funds to reduce the federal deficit and has voted against the House leadership on several spending bills.  “Now every spending bill we pass will have to be deficit-neutral or offset by corresponding savings to keep the deficit in check,” he said.

“Today’s vote shows that a majority in Congress is committed to fiscal responsibility,” Connolly said.  “Restoring statutory PAYGO means that we have to make the same hard choices that families make every day to balance their own budgets.” 

The PAYGO legislation that passed the House Thursday by a vote of 233-187 is similar to the statutory PAYGO law that was put in place by Congress in the 1990s and helped turn massive deficits into record surpluses.  The Republican-controlled Congress allowed these rules to expire in 2002, which contributed to the dramatic turnaround from a projected surplus of $5.6 trillion to projected deficits of more than $11 trillion.

“Every American knows that our nation needs to confront the enormous deficits and debt we’re facing,” Connolly said.  “While PAYGO will not solve the problem on its own, it will prevent the hole from getting deeper.”

The statutory PAYGO bill requires Congress to pay for the costs of tax cuts or increases in spending with savings elsewhere in the budget. Exceptions can be made if a situation is deemed an emergency, so that Congress is always able to respond quickly if necessary.