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The Blue Dog Coalition

Chronic deficits and a growing national debt cause interest rates to rise, increasing the cost of borrowing for every American. This, in turn, reduces household income, reduces private investment, and jeopardizes future economic growth-all of which threaten the well-being of hard-working American families.

The $11+ trillion debt our country has irresponsibly accumulated will need to be paid back-and it will be paid back by our children and grandchildren. The interest paid on the national debt is one of the fastest growing parts of the federal budget and dwarfs the size of spending on critical priorities such as education, homeland security, and veterans' health care. The choices we are making today will impact what we will be able to provide tomorrow. Quite simply, I believe that we should be investing in our children's future, not borrowing from it.

Even worse, 80 cents out of every dollar borrowed is coming from foreign investors such as China, Japan, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. During the eight years of the Bush Administration, the level of foreign-owned debt more than doubled and currently, nearly half of our nation's total debt is owned by foreign countries. We simply cannot afford to continue writing blank checks with reckless abandon, and borrowing money from countries such as China in order to pay our bills. This unfairly burdens future generations, makes us increasingly beholden to foreign nations, and threatens our standing in the world.

Since being elected to Congress, I have worked to force the government to live within its means—just as every family across America must live within its own budget. The fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition has led the charge to ensure Congress adheres to fiscal discipline by reining in reckless federal spending. In addition, the Blue Dog Coalition has advocated for reinstating the long-expired pay-as-you-go (“PAYGO”) rules. PAYGO rules are simple—they require that all spending increases and tax cuts are fully paid for. PAYGO rules were part of the tough budgetary measures used throughout the 1990s that brought our country from then-record deficits to surpluses for the first time since 1969. Restoring budget discipline and getting back on a path to budget surpluses will ensure that America is economically strong and not beholden to foreign nations, Social Security and Medicare are not threatened, and that the burden of paying down the national debt is not placed on the backs of our children and grandchildren.

Actions

•  The Blue Dog Coalition was instrumental in persuading the 110th Congress to reinstate PAYGO in the Rules of the House.

See the PAYGO section of the current Rules of the House

•  The Blue Dog Coalition is committed to strengthening the current PAYGO rules and I am proud to be a co-sponsor of H.R. 2116, which extends PAYGO rules through 2014 and enacts PAYGO into law.

See H.R. 2116 as introduced

See the Blue Dog press release on statutory PAYGO

•  In February 2009, the Blue Dog Coalition met with President Obama to discuss our need to reign in federal spending and put an end to our spiraling deficit. President Obama signaled his support for reinstating statutory PAYGO into law. In addition, Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer have also called for the enactment of statutory PAYGO.

See the press release on the President's commitment to fiscal accountability

See letter from President Obama on statutory PAYGO

•  I was proud to co-sponsor H.Res. 40 with my fellow Blue Dog colleague John Tanner (D-TN), which unanimously passed the House on January 14, 2009. This resolution amended the House rules to add additional layers of oversight and accountability over government spending by shining light on the most egregious cases of government waste. The measure requires each House committee to hold at least three hearings per year on waste, fraud, and abuse on programs under each respective committee's jurisdiction. It also requires hearings if the Government Accountability Office (GAO) finds a program to be at high risk for waste, fraud, and abuse, or if an agency's auditor issues a financial disclaimer of the agency's financial records.

See the press release on H.Res.40

See H.Res. 40 as passed

•  I, along with my Blue Dog colleagues, worked to ensure that the FY 2010 budget conference report (S.Con.Res. 13) while rebuilding our economy in the short-term, also begins to put our country back on track fiscally over the long-term. As a result of our efforts, the budget spends $10 billion less than the President's proposal, cuts the deficit by nearly two thirds in four years, requires healthcare reform and other initiatives to be deficit-neutral, includes funding for program integrity to identify waste and abuse in government spending, and calls for major reforms in federal contracting and procurement, particularly at the Department of Defense. Most importantly, the budget resolution sets the stage for reinstating PAYGO rules into law.

See the Blue Dog press release on the House-passed budget resolution

See S.Con.Res. 13 as passed by the House and Senate

•  The Blue Dogs cut $50 billion in unnecessary spending in the recently-passed economic recovery bill. We also worked to eliminate non-stimulative spending items such as funding for family planning, sod on the mall, a tax break for Hollywood, funding for smoking cessation activities, and more.

See H.R. 1, the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009” as signed into law