DENNIS A. CARDOZA: “just 2 weeks ago, the national debt passed the $8 trillion mark. This unfortunate milestone was the direct result of…”

“just 2 weeks ago, the national debt passed the $8 trillion mark. This unfortunate milestone was the direct result of policies put in place by the leadership of this Congress and the Bush White House. Now our friends on the other side of the aisle want the Members of the Blue Dog Coalition to endorse their latest push to run the debt even higher. This budget package should be called the ``Deficit Expansion Act.'' It would continue drowning America in red ink in order to finance new tax cuts for the wealthy and privileged. It is time for a real strategy for fiscal responsibility, not more of the same. The Blue Dog Coalition has put forward a comprehensive, 12-step plan that would dig America out of this fiscal mess. Our proposal includes commonsense reforms such as reinstating PAYGO rules and discretionary spending caps. I strongly urge my colleagues in Congress to take immediate action on the debt by embracing real bipartisan reform. ____________________”