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HR 70 PAYGO Reinstatement Act
Topic Started: 14 Jun 2013, 11:20 AM (524 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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Replies:
Melissa Sanchez
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Madam Speaker,

My major concern about this legislation is that there are occasions when deficit spending is called for. My reference in this regard is not stimulus, however, but events such as the Second World War. While I would like to think such will not happen again, a prudent person stays prepared.

Therefore, I move to amend the bill by adding the following as Section 4, with all subsequent sections renumbered appropriately:

Section 4. 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.
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Melissa Sanchez
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Madam Speaker,

I also move to amend the legislation by adding the following to Section 1:


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.



I finally yield, but reserve the balance of my time.
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Matt Urbana
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Madam Speaker,

I second the second amendment offered by the gentlelady from Florida.

I also move to amend as follows, in place of her first amendment:

Quote:
 
Section 4. Emergency Override

The provisions of Section 1 of this legislation, for a specific bill, may be suspended by a 2/3 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.


It is my thought that any reasonable proposal to increase the deficit, such as to engage in the type of fiscal policy advocated by Keynes, would command enough support from both parties that such an override would easily pass.

That said, I would note that deficit spending in times of economic downturn has, in the past, tended to lead to permanent deficits.

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

I second the motion to extend, and the gentlelady's first amendment and I yield.
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Heather Holson
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The motion to extend and amend is recognized. 24 hours for voting: Motion to Extend, Sanchez 1, Sanchez 2.
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Landry
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Winter is Coming to the Red States
Aye to Extend
Aye on Sanchez I
Aye on Sanchez II
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AK3
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Aye to extend
Aye on Sanchez I
Nay on Sanchez II
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Daniel Hernandez
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Wielder of the Gavel
Rick Thomas

Aye to Extend
Aye on Sanchez 1
Aye on Sanchez 2
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Brenninger
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#Swaggy
Aye to extend
Aye on Sanchez I
Nay on Sanchez II
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Jack Bentley
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Aye to Extend
Aye on Sanchez I
Aye on Sanchez II
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Vissering
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I'm radioactive.
Aye to Extend
Aye on Sanchez I
Aye on Sanchez II
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Matt Urbana
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Aye to extend.
Nay on Sanchez I.
Aye on Sanchez II.
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Edward Kensington
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Madame Speaker,

The Congresswoman from Florida should review the facts of the matter. Those surpluses had little to do with PAYGO and everything to do with stronger than projected economic growth which culminated in increased tax revenue and collection. The CBO itself was projecting much, much smaller fiscal surpluses than those that had materialized and that's because tax revenue was much higher than had been anticipated. The strong economy, supported my innovations in IT and the increase in capital gains related to IT, provided those large surpluses. Let's not connect the wrong dots of cause and effect.

Quote:
 
In January 1997, the actual budget deficit of $107 billion in 1996 was projected to grow to $124 billion in 1997 and swell to $278 billion by 2007. The CBO’s projection for the 1997 deficit turned out to be off by over $100 billion–the projected $124 billion deficit turned into an actual deficit of $22 billion.


So, in other words, the CBO projected a budget deficit in 1997, a year before PAYGO was instituted. Strong economic growth actually allowed us to move toward balance a full year before PAYGO was even implemented.

Quote:
 
The continued strong performance of the U.S. economy has had an even larger effect on the projected surpluses. In January 1998, the CBO was forecasting 2.7% real GDP growth for 1998; actual growth came in a full percentage point higher, at 3.7%. By January 1999, the CBO had revised its estimate of average real growth for the 1999-2008 period from 2.1% per year to almost 2.3%. These upward revisions in expected growth add to the surplus by raising projected revenues and lowering expenditures. These effects can be quite large.


We would have had large budget surpluses without PAYGO because the economy had performed much better than anyone at the CBO or elsewhere had envisioned.

Quote:
 
Changes in the economy also have the potential to alter the budget outlook drastically. A downward revision in forecasts for economic growth would lower future tax revenues and alter the projections. For example, the $1.2 trillion projected surplus over 1999-2004 would be reduced by over $300 billion if the economy were to grow 1% slower than assumed. Given the difficulties in forecasting future economic developments, the budget projections are subject to great uncertainty even if government policies remain constant.


This information was provided by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

Read the full report here. Fed San Francisco.

Instead of handcuffing ourselves: We need to be overhauling our anti-growth tax code, modernize and repair our infrastructure, invest in education and labor training, invest in federal science and research and look toward long-term reforms of SSI and Medicare to better manage our long term fiscal situation. We need economic growth and job creation. We don't need more shortsighted Austerity.
Edited by Edward Kensington, 16 Jun 2013, 02:39 AM.
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Melissa Sanchez
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Aye on vote to extend.

Aye on Sanchez 1.

Aye on Sanchez 2.
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Patrick Callaghan
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New England Republican >:D
Aye to Extend
Aye on Sanchez 1
Aye on Sanchez 2
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Heather Holson
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The motion to extend is carried as are the motions to amend. 48 hours shall be added to the debate and this bill shall be amended. Debate continues.
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Call
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I like potatos
Aye to Extend
Aye on Sanchez I
Aye on Sanchez II
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Melissa Sanchez
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Madam Speaker,

I rise to a point of Information.

Who does Mr. Kensington represent?

I yield.
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Ambrose Griffith
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Aye to all three.
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Anthony Rifenburg
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A Personal Campaign Machine - The Frank Underwood of VUSA
Nay to Table
Aye to Extend
Aye to Sanchez I
Aye to Sanchez II
Edited by Anthony Rifenburg, 17 Jun 2013, 05:30 PM.
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