Letter to the Editor

Congressman supports program

Sunday, July 26, 2009

To the Editor:

Over the past several months, Congress has taken unprecedented steps to address the current economic crisis head-on.

We passed an economic recovery plan to put Americans back to work, made smart investments in our schools, roads and bridges, and successfully prevented a collapse of our financial system.

All of these actions were necessary to prevent a bad situation from becoming worse, but they have come with a price.

Even as we continue to address current challenges, we can take steps today to reign in unnecessary spending a lay the groundwork for our long-term fiscal health.

That's why I was glad to support permanently reinstituting mandatory pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) budget rules and bringing some much-needed fiscal responsibility to Washington.

The idea behind PAYGO is simple. Congress can only spend a dollar if it saves a dollar somewhere else. As we saw in the 1990s, statutory PAYGO is an effective tool to bring runaway deficits under control and I hope the Senate will pass it soon.

In the meantime, I am working on other ways to reduce unnecessary spending in Washington. So far, I have supported amendments cutting more than $644 million from the federal budget for the upcoming fiscal year. In addition, I am working with my colleagues on a bipartisan panel to reform defense spending and reduce waste in the defense contracting system.

Restoring fiscal responsibility can't just be a Democratic goal or a Republican goal. We must all work together to reign in unnecessary spending and make the tough choices to get our fiscal house in order.

Rest assured, I will continue my efforts to protect your tax dollars and ensure the federal government lives within its means.

Sincerely,

Brad Ellsworth,

Indiana's 8th District Congressman