The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation Thursday to restore fiscal responsibility to government spending by enforcing pay-as-you-go, or PAYGO, rules in Congress. Congressman Bart Gordon, an original cosponsor of the bill and leader in fiscal reform, voted for the bill.

“The House took a huge step toward restraining runaway government spending and getting our economy back on track,” Gordon said. “PAYGO carries the strong enforcement necessary to get our spending in check and reduce our deficit.”

The pay-as-you-go rule, or PAYGO, is a procedural check that requires Congress to account for all spending programs dollar-for-dollar. When the PAYGO rule is active, every new spending program must demonstrate how it will pay for itself through budget cuts or other revenue sources, rather than deficit spending and increased foreign debt. Strict adherence to PAYGO is widely credited with bringing about the federal budget surpluses of the 1990s. The vote would restore the principle and codify it into a law with enforceable consequences.

“PAYGO has a proven record of keeping Congress on budget,” Gordon said. “When we introduced it in 1990, PAYGO brought about record surpluses. When it expired in 2002, we returned to record deficits.”
Gordon has served as a leader on fiscal discipline in Congress since first championing the original PAYGO initiative in 1990. He pressed for re-establishment of the rule last summer in the House of Representatives, and has endorsed the recent 15-point Blueprint for Fiscal Responsibility as a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition. In 2007, Gordon was honored by the Blue Dog Coaltion for his leadership and “ongoing commitment to restoring responsibility and accountability to government.”

After the bill’s passage, Gordon said, “Congress must continue to work together in a bipartisan way to put our financial house in order and create the jobs American families so desperately need. Deficits are a tax that our children are going to have to pay, and it is time for the federal government to get serious about living within our means.”

The measure passed the house by a margin of 233 to 187. The President has confirmed his support and is expected to sign the bill into law in the coming weeks.