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HR 70 PAYGO Reinstatement Act
Topic Started: 14 Jun 2013, 11:20 AM (526 Views)
Heather Holson
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48 hours for debate

Quote:
 
Congressman Peter J. Lucas, for himself, Congressman E. Herbert Johnston, Congresswoman Grace Hollingsworth, Congressman Patrick Callaghan, Congressman Michael Brewer, Congressman Rick Thomas, Congresswoman Melissa Sanchez and Senator Andrea Martinez proposes

A BILL TO reinstate PAYGO requirements.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress Assembled as Follows

Section 1 PAYGO

(1) No Bill shall be considered by the US House of Representatives or the US Senate that is not PAYGO compliant.

(2) A Bill is PAYGO compliant if

(a) the Bill does not require or authorize the spending of any money, or

(b) the amount of money reasonably estimated to be saved by the Bill is equal to or exceeds the amount of money required or authorized to be spent by the Bill

(3) Costs involved in the passage of a bill through Congress, including any reports on the Bill by the Congressional Budget Office and similar agencies, shall be disregarded, as shall the costs of signing ceremonies and the publication and archiving of the passed Act.

(4) Costs involved in taking steps reasonably expected to realize savings that exceed the cost of taking those steps within a period of 5 years shall be discounted.

(5) No person presiding over debate in the US House of Representatives or the US Senate may bring up for debate any Bill that is not PAYGO compliant, nor may such a Bill be brought up by a motion to suspend the rules or by any other mechanism.

(6) If a Bill is passed by the US Congress that is not PAYGO complaint, it shall be treated as if the President had vetoed that Bill at a time when Congress was not in session following the bi-annual Congressional elections.

(7) Any spending resulting from the passage of a Bill that is not PAYGO complaint shall be deemed unlawful. Any Congressman or Senator who voted for or supported such a Bill, knowing the Bill to fail to comply with this Act, may be liable to the Federal Government personally following appropriate due process of law for the reimbursement of a portion of that sum reflective of his contribution to its passage and his ability to pay.

(8) The Congressional authorities shall arrange that all Members of Congress undergo appropriate training on the requirements of this Act.

9) All legislation filed after the date of lawful enactment of this act shall include a "PAYGO Analysis" which will note the estimated net effect of the legislation on the Federal Debt, the time frame being covered, and if not readily apparent, an explanation of how the numbers were derived.

Section 2 Offset

In order to offset spending required under Section 2 (8) of this Act, Funding for Doctoral Dissertations by the Department for Housing and Urban Development shall be terminated (annual saving $230,000).

Section 3. Emergency Override

The provisions of Section 1 of this legislation, for a specific bill, may be suspended by a 60% vote each of the House and Senate. This shall be referred to as a "PAYGO Override Vote", and must occur to bring the legislation to the Floor of each body for debate.

Section 4 Enactment

This Act shall have effect upon being signed into law. It shall not affect any Bill already being debated on that date.
Edited by Heather Holson, 16 Jun 2013, 01:37 PM.
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Edward Kensington
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Madame Speaker,

Tax and spend liberals? Were Reagan and Bush tax and spend liberals? I suppose so.

I've voted for every single efficient spending legislation introduced in this House. My voting record is clear. I just don't think it's a good time to handcuff ourselves. The Constitution of these United States states loud and clear that Congress reserves the authority, when needed, to borrow as a means of financing investments deemed essential to our collective well-being.
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Landry
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Winter is Coming to the Red States
Madam Speaker,

I move to strike Section 3 in its entirety, and replace it as follows:

Quote:
 
SEC. 3 OFFSETS

The funding required under this Act shall be drawn from the existing budget of the Congressional Budget Office.


If we are offsetting the costs of this bill, let's have the offsets make logical sense, rather than have them be some inane targeting of our country's students.

I yield.
Edited by Landry, 14 Jun 2013, 02:59 PM.
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peter
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Lucas for President: Take Back America!
Madam Speaker

As the costs of the Bill are minimal, I am fairly apathetic about where the money comes from, as long as it doesn't go on the deficit. We should start as we mean to go on. However, I chose that particular programs as there are several other sources of federal funding for doctoral dissertations, which is why the HUD program has been recommended in the past for elimination.

I yield.
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Edward Kensington
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Madame Speaker,

I will add that most of our deficit can be attributed to the economy performing below potential and the automatic spending (SSI Disability, Unemployment Insurance, Medicaid, Food Stamps, Section 8 HUD and WIC) which results from an underperforming economy. Those programs, which are known as "automatic stabilizers," will increase on their own as the need and demand for them increases in line with joblessness and economic malaise. PAYGO does nothing to address that issue and neither does it address or touch on the long term need of reforming and restructuring SSI and Medicare.
Edited by Edward Kensington, 14 Jun 2013, 03:44 PM.
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Edward Kensington
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Madame Speaker,

PAYGO is also ineffective from the perspective of tax reform.

The Congressional Budget Office uses "static analysis" when determining how a tax reform bill or measure will affect our underlying fiscal situation. The problem with "static analysis" is that such an approach does not take into account changes in economic behavior. For ex., reductions in the capital gains tax have translated into more revenue being collected instead of less because investors tend to trade more and invest more when the tax rate is lowered. The same can be said for other tax reform and reduction measures as well as growth-oriented spending measures on infrastructure and federal research.
Edited by Edward Kensington, 14 Jun 2013, 03:50 PM.
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AK3
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Mr. Speaker,

The minority says we have a deficit that we need to trim.... well the simple solution is cutting the very tax-loopholes they propose and support. If we get rid of these, we could easily pay off the debt and not potentially hurt the United States such as this piece of legislation would do.

I yield
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AK3
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Mr. Speaker,

I should have done this last time I spoke, but I guess it just slipped my mind. I move to table and recommit.

I yield
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peter
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Lucas for President: Take Back America!
Madam Speaker

Its always the same story isn't it. If the sponsor's name doesn't have a "D" after it, a motion to table is inevitable.

Its time I think that the majority party learned what the word they use as their party's name actually means.

I yield.
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Brenninger
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#Swaggy
Madame Speaker,

I second the motion put forth by my colleague from Vermont.

I yield
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Landry
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Winter is Coming to the Red States
Madam Speaker,

I oppose the motion to table; this bill deserves a recorded vote.

I yield.
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Matt Urbana
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Edward Kensington
14 Jun 2013, 03:43 PM
Madame Speaker,

I will add that most of our deficit can be attributed to the economy performing below potential and the automatic spending (SSI Disability, Unemployment Insurance, Medicaid, Food Stamps, Section 8 HUD and WIC) which results from an underperforming economy. Those programs, which are known as "automatic stabilizers," will increase on their own as the need and demand for them increases in line with joblessness and economic malaise. PAYGO does nothing to address that issue and neither does it address or touch on the long term need of reforming and restructuring SSI and Medicare.
Madam Speaker,

The gentleman would argue that our deficit is a result of poor economic performance. Why is it, then, that as the economy slowly but surely recovers, the deficit shows no signs of improving? In short, because of the "spend now, tax later" attitude of those in the gentleman's party. It's high time that we get this out of control spending under control, Madam Speaker.

I yield.
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Landry
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Winter is Coming to the Red States
Madam Speaker,

To correct a misconception, our deficit is in fact improving; just this afternoon, the President signed into law a budget that passed this House and the other Chamber with bipartisan support that reduced the deficit by 16%. We can argue all we want about this legislation, but let's not pretend that our deficit is going unaddressed.

I yield.
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Edward Kensington
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Madame Speaker,

The issue here is poor economic performance.

Indeed, we, the majority party, have done more to reduce the deficit than analysts had figured we were willing or able to do.

We have shown that we are committed to moving our books toward balance as long as the economy remains accommodative for us to do so.

We are not, however, so willing to send our economy off a cliff. Did the Republicans learn nothing from the Herbert Hoover Austerity and the Great-Depression?

Here was a 2010 Projection:

Posted Image
Edited by Edward Kensington, 14 Jun 2013, 11:47 PM.
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Matt Urbana
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Madam Speaker,

Despite all the claims made by the Majority Party, the fact remains that through the last six years into the Majority's control of the presidency we have seen a ballooning national debt and no serious attempts to reign in spending. Madam Speaker, we desperately need to do something about our out of control spending, and PAYGO will drastically help that effort.

I yield.
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Heather Holson
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The motion to table is recognized and seconded. 24 hours for voting.
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Landry
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Winter is Coming to the Red States
Nay to table
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AK3
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Aye to table.
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Heather Holson
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Nay to Table
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Matt Urbana
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Nay to table.
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Edward Kensington
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Madame Speaker,

Why, pray tell, was the opposition so willing to throw PAYGO down the drain after Bush was elected to the White House? The Republicans have no problem running massive and unsustainable deficits as long as a fellow Republican is sitting in the Oval Office.

The Republicans either like telling lies to themselves or telling lies to the nation.

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Edited by Edward Kensington, 14 Jun 2013, 11:55 PM.
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