Charles W. Stenholm: “my motion will make one simple change to the base bill. It will reinstate the original pay-as-you-go rules for all…”

“my motion will make one simple change to the base bill. It will reinstate the original pay-as-you-go rules for all legislation which would increase the deficit. The motion would leave in place the discretionary spending limits and other provisions of the base bill. The original pay-as-you-go legislation was part of the bipartisan 1990 budget agreement between President George Bush and the Democratic Congress. Pay-as-you-go rules applying to changes in revenues in the mandatory spending were extended in the 1993 Budget Reconciliation Act, the 1995 budget resolution, and the bipartisan balanced budget agreement in 1997. The pay-as-you-go rules enacted in 1990 have been tested and they worked. They were instrumental in going from large deficits in the early 1980s and early 1990s to budget surpluses in the late 1990s. The Concord Coalition, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, the AARP and a bipartisan majority in the other body and a bipartisan majority in this body, for more than 20 minutes, when the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson) offered this the first time, have all expressed support for reinstating balanced and effective PAYGO rules that applies to all legislation that would increase the deficit.”