Blue Dogs Work to Restore Fiscal Responsibility to Government

This week, Democrats took back the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives following 2018’s historic midterm elections. One of the first orders of business? Establish rules for the 116th Congress. H.Res.6, “A Resolution Providing for the House Rules of the 116th Congress,” included a measure giving Members of Congress additional time to read bills, created a select committee to modernize Congress and restored Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) rules.

PAYGO, which was last in place in 2010, requires that both mandatory spending and tax cuts must be offset to prevent increases in the national debt. House Republicans did away with the rule when their party took control of the House in 2011.

“Restoring the bipartisan PAYGO rules is the right thing to do to ensure that our nation does not go more deeply into debt and our children and grandchildren are not saddled with this burden for generations to come,” said Representative Tom O’Halleran, who serves as the Blue Dog Co-Chair for Policy.

The Blue Dogs have long been committed to PAYGO as a key legislative tool to ensure Congress pursues fiscally responsible policies that do not saddle future generations with debt.

“Now, Republicans and Democrats must continue to work together to find balanced solutions that will rein in our nation’s unprecedented debt and ever-growing deficits. The American people are counting on us to get our nation’s fiscal house in order and put our country on the path to economic prosperity,” added O’Halleran.

The Blue Dog Coalition’s leadership for the 116^th Congress includes:

Representative Stephanie Murphy (FL-07), Co-Chair for Administration

Representative Tom O’Halleran (AZ-01), Co-Chair for Policy

Representative Lou Correa (CA-46), Co-Chair for Communications

Representative Anthony Brindisi (NY-22), Whip

The Blue Dog Coalition’s new members for the 116^th Congress include:

Representative Anthony Brindisi (NY-22)

Representative Ben McAdams (UT-04)

Representative Max Rose (NY-11)

Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11)

Representative Abigail Spanberger (VA-07)

Representative Xochitl Torres Small (NM-02)

Representative Jeff Van Drew (NJ-02)