[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 16 (Wednesday, February 3, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H479]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

  (Ms. KILROY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. KILROY. Mr. Speaker, in my household, just like the households of 
my neighbors and people in my community in Central Ohio, when we want 
to spend money, we have to figure out whether it fits within our 
budget. And as a local official, we also needed to make sure that our 
budgets were balanced and that we had the right kind of priorities in 
our budgets as we decided our spending plan. That's why passing pay-as-
you-go legislation is so important.
  It worked during the Clinton administration. We had to decide, 
Congress had to decide what the important priorities were, and it left 
a budget surplus at the end of the Clinton administration. During the 
Bush years, we saw the PAYGO legislation expire, and we saw that 
instead of making sure that we paid attention to the right kind of 
priorities, millions were given in tax cuts to the wealthiest, and our 
President was left with a budget deficit to confront.
  Right now, if we pass PAYGO legislation, it will make sure that we 
can afford to fund America's most important priorities: Education, 
clean energy, jobs. And I hope that our colleagues across the aisle 
will join us in pay-as-you-go legislation.

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