Kagen Votes To Control Government Spending

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

February 4, 2010

KAGEN  VOTES  TO  CONTROL  GOVERNMENT  SPENDING

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Steve Kagen, M.D. voted today, as he has done eight previous times, to control government spending.  Kagen supported the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act, which requires Congress to pay for all programs with savings elsewhere in the budget.

“Our federal government must live within its means just as we do around our kitchen tables across Wisconsin,” said Kagen.  “Mandatory Pay-As-You-Go rules are critical to reducing our debts.”

The bill passed today requires Congress to offset the costs of tax cuts or increases in spending with savings elsewhere in the budget.  It’s based upon the bipartisan PAYGO law that was in place in the 1990s, which helped turn massive deficits into record surpluses.  It was allowed to expire during the Bush administration in 2002, which contributed to the dramatic turnaround from a projected surplus of $5.6 trillion to projected deficits of more than $11 trillion.

“Pay-As-We-Go will help control reckless government spending and ensure that we have room to make investments in other critical areas like jobs, education and health care.  Being fiscally responsible will help us to build a better future for all of us.”

Dr. Kagen, a vocal opponent of wasteful spending, has voted eight other times since 2007 to enact Pay-As-You-Go measures into law and cosponsored the legislation to reinstate effective statutory Pay-Go policy.  Dr. Kagen also refused to reward failure and voted against every Wall Street bailout.

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