Americans are not afforded the luxury of living beyond their means and our government should stop doing so at the expense of future generations. That’s why I have consistently called on Congress to reinstate "PAYGO" rules.

PAYGO stands for "Pay As You Go." In other words, any new spending or tax proposal must be paid for, either by cutting existing programs or raising revenue from somewhere else. We can not continue the irresponsible fiscal policies of the last several years; policies which have lead to our enormous national debt. Strong PAYGO rules that I and the Blue Dogs fought for years to restore, and which were once again made part of the House rules at the beginning of the 110th Congress, will help us restore fiscal discipline to Washington and achieve the goal of a balanced budget.

Originally formed in 1995, the Blue Dog Coalition is a group of moderate to conservative Democrats committed to restoring fiscal responsibility and accountability to government. We also seek to promote commonsense, bipartisan positions which bridge the gap between ideological extremes so that we can work together on the important issues facing our country.

As the Policy Co-Chair of the Blue Dog Coalition, I am charged with overseeing the Coalition’s various task forces to develop the group's policy positions. It’s a challenging, but rewarding job. And, given both the short- and long-term fiscal challenges that our country faces, the future economic and fiscal health of our country depends greatly on a renewed commitment to fiscal responsibility. My fellow Blue Dogs and I understand the importance of this effort and will continue to promote these values.

The federal budget should reflect our country’s priorities and values. Our budget must meet the challenges posed by the most important issues facing the United States, including: the war on terrorism; the need to secure the homeland; the aging of our population and the rising costs associated with that demographic change; the need to expand access to health insurance; and the need to ensure that our country has the best education system in the world, among many others.

Putting together a budget that addresses all of these issues, however, is a difficult and daunting task, given the fiscally irresponsible path that we are on as a nation. Our exploding national debt has exacerbated our country’s fiscal challenges. In fact, interest payments on the national debt is our third largest expenditure and one of the fastest growing components of the federal budget.

While there are certainly areas of our federal budget that can and should be cut, our first priority should be to reduce the national debt so that our highest national priorities do not have to compete with debt interest payments for scarce taxpayer dollars.

Unfortunately, our current policies will impose a significant future tax increase on all Americans. The debt tax, which cannot be repealed, will have to be repaid by future generations, and I am deeply concerned that some in Washington have been unwilling to adjust their policies in response to our changing economic conditions.

If Congress continues to ignore the long-term consequences of our current fiscal policy, we will be forcing our children and grandchildren to pay a steep price for the deficits and debt we create today.