President Barack Obama announced today he will push for the codification of "pay as you go" rules for Congress, requiring any new entitlement spending or tax cuts be offset by higher taxes or spending reductions. The plan exempts "discretionary" spending, nearly 40% of the federal budget, but junior U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet supports the PayGo principle for "any legislation that creates new spending, investments or programs," according to a spokesman.
The Obama proposal is supported by the "Blue Dog Democrats", a coalition of self-described fiscal conservatives which counts both Colorado's U.S. Senators as members.
"It is time to restore the principle that Congress will pay for any new programs it creates," Bennet said in a Tuesday press release. Spokesman Michael Amodeo wouldn't comment on particular programs, but said any new government spending "should be balanced out in a way that doesn't add to the federal deficit."
Congressional Republicans criticized Obama's plan for not covering enough of the federal budget to reduce the deficit. "The Administration's sudden focus on PayGo seems more driven by polling and PR strategy than a serious commitment to fiscal discipline," said U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va.
Extending PayGo to all federal spending would be politically challenging for Bennet, and would mean opposing bills like this year's federal stimulus package, which he supported.
Amodeo says the stimulus bill was exceptional because of "extenuating circumstances," and exceptions and loopholes quickly neutered a version of PayGo in 2007. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had made the mechanism a talking point in the 2006 midterm elections, and voiced support for today's White House proposal.
Exceptions could wallow the rule again in 2009. An analysis of PayGo by the conservative Heritage Foundation said that for the measure to be effective, it "should apply to all new policies" (their emphasis). Constituents are eager to see government live within its means, but deficit spending will continue largely unabated unless the policy is extended to all bills, even those that make it tempting to bend the rules.