WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Mike Ross (AR-04) and other fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats introduced the “Fiscal Honesty and Accountability Act of 2009.” The bill seeks to re-instate the binding pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) rules that helped lead to balanced budgets in the 1990s.

“For too long fiscal irresponsibility has dominated Washington and this bill intends to fix that,” said Ross, a key leader of the Blue Dog Coalition.  “If Arkansas families and small businesses are expected to balance their budgets, so should the federal government.  PAYGO is a common sense approach to get us back on the path toward a balanced budget.”

Fiscally conservative Democrats formed the Blue Dog Coalition in 1995 during the 104th Congress as a policy-oriented group to give moderate and conservative Democrats in the House of Representatives a common sense, bridge-building voice within the Congress.  The Blue Dogs played a key role in passing PAYGO rules in the late 1990s, which successfully resulted in a $236 billion surplus under former President Bill Clinton by 2000.

“I was pleased to see the ‘tea party’ grassroots movement recently gain attention because I’ve been having my own tea party against wasteful spending since I came to Congress in 2001,” said Ross.  “We cannot pass along this massive national debt to our children and grandchildren, and, without fiscal reform, the U.S. will have to continue borrowing from foreign countries threatening our national security.”

Ross and other Blue Dogs have met with President Obama and White House officials several times throughout the year, reiterating the need for fiscal responsibility in Washington.  The Blue Dog Coalition has successfully secured support from both House leadership and President Obama to support PAYGO legislation.  House leadership also recently wrote in support of statutory PAYGO rules in an April 28 letter to the Blue Dogs.

“We cannot address the current national debt without first stabilizing the economy, putting people back to work and boosting consumer spending,” said Ross.  “The current economic recession, the worst since World War II, requires immediate investments in our economy; however, deficit-spending is not sustainable and we must close this gap as our nation recovers.  If we do not get our own fiscal house back in order, our international creditors will do it for us and we will lose our economic freedom.”