Rep. Garrett Speaks on PAYGO on the House Floor
Washington,
Jul 22 -
Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ) spoke on the House floor today about reckless spending in Congress, stating, “If left to their own devices, the Democrats would run this country’s finances into the ground. It is an admission of guilt that they can’t help themselves!”
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The text of Rep. Garrett’s comments are below:
“Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor today, thrilled that the majority has decided to focus on their own reckless, out-of-control spending. By bringing a statutory PAYGO bill to the floor, we can now definitively conclude that, if left to their own devices, the Democrats would run this country’s finances into the ground. It is an admission of guilt that “They can’t help themselves!”
“Frankly, I find it a little disingenuous that the majority is raising the banner of fiscal responsibility after hearing on this floor that Republican opposition to a $787 Billion “stimulus” package—not “paid for” in any way, either now of in the future—was somehow reckless. It is a little hard to listen to calls for spending restraint four and a half months after the Democrats passed and the President signed a $410 Billion Omnibus appropriations bill that contained over 9000 earmarks.
“Lest we forget, earlier this year, the House Democrats rammed a budget through Congress that would double the national debt in 5 years, and triple it in 10. This is spending that is already on the books. PAYGO will do nothing to stop this.
“Furthermore, this specific proposal is seriously flawed. First of all, it only applies to increases or reductions in tax rates and any new or expanded entitlement programs. It does nothing to address the tidal wave of entitlement spending that we all know is coming in the very near future. It also does nothing to address the waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars that we have seen through the discretionary appropriations process.
“Enacting PAYGO at this point is a little like closing the stable doors after the horses have bolted.
“Still, I want to again applaud the Democrats newfound interest in spending restraint. I welcome a true bipartisan consensus on this issue in the future, and I yield back.”
