Southern Arizona congresswoman also votes to send president new rules to curb federal spending
WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords today cast two votes to rein in federal deficits by refusing to go along with an increase in the debt limit and imposing new rules on future federal government spending.
Giffords was among only a handful of Democrats to break with her party’s leadership and vote against a measure that will increase the nation’s debt limit by a record amount.
“What is the purpose of having a debt limit if we vote to increase it every time we hit the limit?” Giffords asked. “No Arizonan could do that with their household budget. It is unfortunate that so many of my colleagues don’t understand that we must have the fiscal will to halt out-of-control government spending.”
The resolution to increase the debt limit narrowly passed the House 217-to-212. Giffords was one of only 37 Democrats to vote against the increase.
Five other Arizonans in the House – two Democrats and three Republicans – voted with Giffords to oppose the increase.
Congress last increased the debt limit in December – an increase that Giffords also opposed. At that time, the limit was raised by $290 billion – an increase less than one-sixth of today’s record-breaking jump.
In a separate action, Giffords voted with the majority to pass the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, commonly referred to as PAYGO. It passed the House 233-to-187 and now goes to President Obama for his signature.
Giffords was an original co-sponsor of the bill and was among a handful of members of Congress who went to the White House last year to discuss PAYGO with the president.
Obama has said he will sign the legislation. In a statement issued after this afternoon’s vote, he said “PAYGO would hold us to a simple but bedrock principle: Congress can only spend a dollar if it saves a dollar elsewhere. Mandatory spending increases and tax cuts must be paid for; they're not free, and borrowing to finance them is not a sustainable long-term policy.”
PAYGO will require future spending increases or tax cuts to be paid for with either cuts to other programs or new streams of revenue.
Under PAYGO, if spending rules are broken, the White House budget office would force automatic cuts to programs such as Medicare, farm subsidies and unemployment insurance. Programs such as Medicaid, Social Security and food stamps would be exempt from cuts.
There are similar rules in place now, but they are ineffective and have frequently been waived over the past several years at a cost to the taxpayers of almost $1 trillion.
“I have been a consistent supporter of PAYGO legislation because it would force fiscal discipline on us – something that we otherwise seem unable to do,” Giffords said.
Giffords has been a member of the fiscally responsible Blue Dog Coalition since she joined the House in 2007. PAYGO has been a Blue Dog priority since 1995.
“Families and business owners in Tucson or Sierra Vista realize that they can’t spend money they don’t have without facing dire consequences,” Giffords said. “The federal government needs to acknowledge – and abide by – that same fundamental fact of life. PAYGO will help achieve that goal.
“We must pay for our priorities today instead of passing the bill – with interest – to our children and grandchildren,” Giffords added. “PAYGO is a proven and effective tool for restoring fiscal discipline to our government.”