Deborah Koff Ross: “earlier today my Blue Dog colleagues and I stood together to offer our official endorsement of Chairman Spratt's budget…”

“earlier today my Blue Dog colleagues and I stood together to offer our official endorsement of Chairman Spratt's budget because it is clear that we share the common goal of eliminating wasteful government spending, adhering to strict PAYGO principles, and finally addressing the long-term fiscal challenges facing this country. Not only does this budget resolution begin to address our long-term fiscal challenges, it also includes measures that crack down on wasteful government spending so that no tax dollar is wasted. This budget continues to take steps to reverse the reckless fiscal policies of the past 7 years of Republican rule by incorporating strict PAYGO rules. It does this in two ways: First, it provides for fiscally responsible tax relief for 23 million middle-income Americans by including a fully offset fix to the alternative minimum tax; second, Chairman Spratt's budget resolution includes a commitment to the extension of the same statutory PAYGO requirements which proved instrumental in turning the large deficits of the early 1990s under a Republican into record-budget surpluses under a Democrat for the first time in over 40 years. The Blue Dogs are committed to addressing the serious long-term fiscal challenges facing the United States, and we should confront these challenges earlier rather than later so that we do not pass the burden of unmanageable debt on to our children and grandchildren.”