Co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Pramila Jayapal
Pramila JayapalExpanding tax credit for businesses retaining workers gains bipartisan support House punts on FISA, votes to begin negotiations with Senate Democrats press OSHA official on issuing an Emergency Temporary Standard MORE (D-Wash.) introduced a bill Friday to repeal pay-as-you-go budgetary rules, a stipulation unpopular among progressives that requires that legislation be deficit neutral.
Let’s get rid of #PAYGO completely. Today, I introduced legislation to get rid of this nonsensical rule that is bad for our economy and for working people. pic.twitter.com/liWbNjw159
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) January 4, 2019
“I have long been concerned about PAYGO and its legislative implications,” Jayapal said in a statement. “Taking it out of the rules package does not address the real problem which is that it is a statutory requirement. That’s why today I am introducing legislation to repeal PAYGO and hold hearings immediately on why PAYGO is bad policy and bad for millions of working Americans who deserve a bold, visionary progressive agenda.”
Pay-go, which requires that any added cost of legislation be offset with new revenue or cuts elsewhere, was thrust into the spotlight after progressives criticized its inclusion in the House's recently passed rules package.
Her bill seeks to repeal the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, which extends the budgetary stipulation to all new legislation, rather than the pay-go aspect of the rules package. The Senate also has its own version of pay-go.
Progressive Reps. Ro Khanna
Rohit (Ro) KhannaThe Hill's Coronavirus Report: Former Rep. Delaney says Trump is spewing venom when he should be leading; Protests roil the nation as fears of new virus outbreaks grow Is the 'endless frontier' at an end? Hillicon Valley: Twitter flags Trump tweet for 'glorifying violence' | Cruz calls for criminal investigation into Twitter over alleged sanctions violations | Senators urge FTC to investigate TikTok child privacy issues MORE (D-Calif.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Alexandria Ocasio-CortezNew York City issues Monday night curfew amid protests Engel primary challenger drops out, endorses fellow challenger Trump says he will designate antifa a terrorist organization MORE (D-N.Y.) voted against the House package because of the budgetary rule, claiming it would make it easier to cut funding for legislative priorities.
Ocasio-Cortez tweeted that pay-go was “a dark political maneuver designed to hamstring progress on healthcare+other” legislation.
Tomorrow I will also vote No on the rules package, which is trying to slip in #PAYGO.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 2, 2019
PAYGO isn’t only bad economics, as @RoKhanna explains; it’s also a dark political maneuver designed to hamstring progress on healthcare+other leg.
We shouldn’t hinder ourselves from the start. https://t.co/WW3UaBs7vh
However, Reps. Mark Pocan
Mark William PocanHouse punts on FISA, votes to begin negotiations with Senate House cancels planned Thursday vote on FISA Pelosi pulls vote on FISA bill after Trump veto threat MORE (D-Wis.) and Jayapal, the co-chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, voted for the rules after getting assurances from House Democratic leaders and House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) that the pay-go rule can be waived.
Jayapal declared her intention to introduce legislation to fully repeal pay-go when she announced her vote for the rules package this week.
Khanna and Ocasio-Cortez are both co-sponsors on Jayapal’s bill.
