WARWICK, RI - Congressman Jim Langevin will today vote for H.R. 2920, Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act, which requires Congress to offset the costs of tax cuts or increases in spending with savings elsewhere in the budget.

Langevin, one of the bill’s cosponsors, today also spoke on the House floor in support of the measure:

“This bill, which I am proud to co-sponsor, will help to restore fiscal discipline by enacting into law the most basic principle of responsible accounting – every dollar spent must be offset by a dollar earned or saved.   This is the way American families balance their check books, and it is the way we should balance the budget.

“Statutory PAYGO is the law that governed our budgetary policies in the 1990’s, and helped turn deficits into record surpluses that contributed to our economic prosperity.  Unfortunately, when the Republican Majority allowed the law to expire in 2002, our fiscal accountability went with it.”

“This bill will give the “pay-as-you-go” principle the force of law and institute additional enforcement mechanisms similar to those that led us to budgetary surpluses in the 1990’s.  This bill is by no means a panacea for our budgetary challenges.  The fiscal health of our nation will ultimately depend on a thriving economy.  However, this is an important first step to restore budgetary discipline, force the tough choices on taxes and spending, and begin bringing down the deep deficits that face our nation.” 
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