Ron Kind: “I am still trying to decipher that colloquy. And it sure looked, smelled and felt like sleight of hand, so chances are…”

“I am still trying to decipher that colloquy. And it sure looked, smelled and felt like sleight of hand, so chances are it probably was. But, Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight in support of the Democratic substitute, mainly for two reasons: because of the values and the priorities that are reflected in our budget, but also because of another important reason, and that is the budget disciplinary tool that we have called pay-as-you-go that they refuse to implement in their budget. Pay-as-you-go was something that worked very well in the 1990s, which gave us 4 years of budget surpluses where we were actually paying down the national debt, not becoming more dependent on China to be financing our deficits, which is the fiscal policy that they are pursuing. These are real choices that we have to make and pay-as-you-go is one real choice that is distinguished in the Democratic substitute. The reason why their numbers don't add up is because there is a complete disconnect between their tax-and-spending policy. It is because too many of them believe in this concept of dynamic scoring which means four minus two equals three, not two. And if any third grader today taking their No Child Left Behind math test submitted an answer, four minus two equals three, they would fail and their school would be labeled as a failing school. And that is the problem with the fiscal policies under the majority today. They are failing the American people by leaving a legacy of debt for our children.”