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Washington, D.C. - Every two years, when a new Congress reconvenes in January, the first item considered is a package of rules under which the House will operate. Generally speaking, House rulesare not a very interesting topic. But they are very important. As a number of my colleagues said on the House floor, structure dictates behavior.
Over the past two years I heard the frustration of many constituents angry about what was happening in Congress. Among other things, there was frustration that there was no chance for anyone to review legislation before it was brought up for a vote. Many expressed concern that it was too easy for Congress to spend money, increase the deficit or raise taxes. While the rules under which the House was working cannot be blamed for all of our problems, they certainly did not help matters.
In the past, there was no rule that required legislation to be available for any set period of time prior to a vote on the House floor. Under the new rules, legislation must be available for three calendar days prior to a vote. And, under the old House rules, a separate vote to increase the debt limit was never required. Under the rules passed this January, there will be.
All of these changes will help. But, there is one major change that might be the most important. In the last Congress, we operated under a “pay as you go” or PAYGO rule. That rule said that if you want to increase mandatory spending or lower taxes, you had to find corresponding tax increases or spending cuts to pay for it. In theory, PAYGO seems to make a certain amount of sense because it’s the way lots of people live their lives. Unfortunately, it didn’t work so well in practice.
PAYGO did very little to stop overspending. According to the House Budget Committee, when Congress did consider bills implicating the PAYGO rule, it was either waived or the majority used gimmicks to get around it 32 different times. When PAYGO was actually honored, it generally meant an increase in taxes rather than a cut in spending.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that over the next decade, the U.S. government debt held by the public will balloon to 90 percent of the size of the nation’s entire economy. These are numbers so out of whack that people from all walks of life realize instantly we are headed for trouble. And you don’t need degree in economics to figure out how to get income and expenses synchronized: cut spending.
A recent CBS News poll found that 77 percent of Americans want to reduce the deficit by cutting spending. Just 9 percent suggested raising taxes to help balance the budget.
The new House rules will make it easier for us to actually do that. Under these rules, PAYGO has been replaced by cut-as-you-go or, “CutGo”. This rule simply requires that any proposed increase in mandatory spending must be offset by a cut in spending of an equal or greater amount elsewhere. Tax increases could no longer be used to pay for spending increases.
It’s a common-sense way of putting on the brakes. And it’s about time.
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