DAVIS TOUTS HOUSE PASSED MEASURE TO RESTORE FISCAL DISCIPLINE January 06, 2007

WASHINGTON, D.C. --U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis voted on a House rules package with the guiding principle of restoring fiscal discipline in Washington. Contained in the package were two principles of a budget reform measure pushed by Davis and his colleagues in the Blue Dog Coalition to end the nation's addiction to deficit spending.

"Congress must cut up the credit card, cap spending, and operate under the principal of living within your means," said Davis. "With the passage of these rules Congress has taken the first critical step to restoring fiscal discipline."

The package requires pay-as-you-go budget discipline, known as "PAYGO," with no new deficit spending. When PAYGO was in place in the 1990's, spending as a percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP) declined to 18.5% by 2001. In the six years since 2001, spending as a percentage of the GDP has skyrocketed to 20.1%, the largest increase since the Nixon Administration. Davis and the Blue Dogs have long advocated for a return to PAYGO spending, which expired in 2002.

The rules package also requires full transparency by ending the abuse of special interest earmarks. Members will be required to disclose their earmark requests and certify that they have no personal financial interest in the request.