CONGRESSMAN TIM WALZ JOINS PRESIDENT OBAMA IN CALL FOR FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY
For Immediate Release
June 3, 2009
Contact: Meredith Salsbery
507-388-2149
WASHINGTON D.C. — President Obama invited Congressman Walz and several of his colleagues who have been strong advocates of fiscal discipline to join him at the White House this afternoon as he announced legislation that would reinstate statutory pay-as-you-go requirements and restore fiscal responsibility.
“I was honored to be invited by the President to stand with him today” Walz said. “I think President Obama’s decision to make this PAYGO legislation the first he has submitted to Congress demonstrates how committed he is to returning to an era of responsible government spending.”
“We need to pay for what we spend. I’ve said all along that we must couple our efforts to put our economy back on track with a plan to restore fiscal responsibility, and the legislation the President announced this afternoon is an important next step.” Walz said.
Congressman Walz has been a supporter of fiscal discipline and PAYGO since first being elected to Congress. The legislation President Obama proposed today would complement and strengthen the PAYGO rule that is already in place in the House.
“One of my first votes as a Member of Congress was to reinstate PAYGO as a rule of the House in 2007. Under this rule, the House took good first steps in paying for specific new funding, but I am pleased that the legislation the President talked about today is more comprehensive and will force Congress and the President to make the tough choices necessary to restore our nation to a path of fiscal discipline” Walz said.
PAYGO was in effect in the 1990’s. In 2002, PAYGO lapsed under Republican control. Democrats reinstated PAYGO as a rule of the House when they regained control of Congress in 2007.
This is the first piece of legislation President Obama has officially transmitted to Congress since taking office earlier this year.
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