This afternoon, OMB Watch submitted a letter to all members of the House of Representatives, encouraging them to support the "Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2009" ("PAYGO").  Introduced by House Majority Leader, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the bill is a crucial first step towards returning to a culture of responsible spending. 

PAYGO legislation continues to move through Congress and may come up for a vote as soon as next week. 

Added: CBO responds to Rep. Paul Ryan's request for analysis of the proposed policy.

Added 7/17: Access the latest information and version of the bill here. 

On July 8th, Peter R. Orszag, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, wrote a letter to Reps. George Miller (D-CA), Charles Rangel (D-NY), and Henry Waxman (D-CA), to express the Administration's support for the policy changes that have been discussed thus far.  After commending their efforts thus far to make policies deficit-neutral, Orszag writes that these changes are not enough.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), a non-profit fiscal policy institute, released a report yesterday questioning the accuracy of two recent reports from the American Family Business Foundation (AFBF) that claim repeal of the federal estate tax could create upward of 1 million jobs relatively cost free.