Earl Pomeroy: “We have had these pay-as-we-go requirements, known as PAYGO, throughout the entire 1990s, and I will tell Members what…”

“We have had these pay-as-we-go requirements, known as PAYGO, throughout the entire 1990s, and I will tell Members what brought it about. What brought it about was divided government. President Bush won, and the Democratic controlled Congress arrived at pay-as-you-go requirements to bring the budget into balance. President Clinton, dealing with a Republican controlled Congress, had pay-as-you-go requirements to get us to a balanced budget. Something very, very problematic has happened under united Republican control of the White House, the House and the Senate: They blew away the PAYGO requirements and have added to the deficit like there is no tomorrow, giving us such deep debt problems with the Chinese.”