NJ House GOP votes against Paying as you go

by: Jason Springer

Wed Jul 29, 2009 at 12:15:00 PM EDT

Republicans like to talk about fiscal responsibility. They have been known on more than one occasion to use the public's fear of deficits as a rhetorical bludgeon. What works for rhetoric doesn't always work for policy. New Jersey's House Republicans refused to vote for pay-go legislation this week. Instead, opting to tow the party line:

Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2009
YES NO
Adler
Andrews
Holt
Pascrell
Payne
Rothman
Sires
Frelinghuysen
Garrett
Lance
LoBiondo
Smith

Democrats are in blue, and Republicans are in red.

The GOP all supported their own amendment, which bill failed to get enough votes. So even though the Democrats bill will go farther than the plan that the GOP got behind because it actually passed, the NJ GOP still opposed it unanimously. Democratic Congressman John Adler penned an opinion piece in the Hill Blog explaining his support for the bill:

For too many years, reckless budgetary policies put our nation at risk and contributed to the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Now, Congress has an opportunity to change the direction of our country's annual budgets by building strong statutory safeguards that limit the level of annual government spending.
The principle of "pay-as-you-go" is very smart and simple. Congress can only spend a dollar if it saves a dollar elsewhere. Setting reasonable spending guidelines will guarantee a bright future for generations of Americans. Currently, our national debt stands at an unprecedented level of $11.2 trillion. This amount will keep rising each year we have an annual deficit. To eliminate our deficits we must spend within our means.

Apparently, the principle of spending as you go only works for Adler's Republican colleagues when they are giving speeches on the rubber chicken circuit.

Jason Springer :: NJ House GOP votes against Paying as you go