The House Budget Resolution and the PAYGO Rule
by Dana Chasin, 3/23/2007
Now that the House Budget Committee has approved its budget resolution for fiscal year 2008 (we noted its differences with its Senate counterpart here), the full House will take it up, with a final vote expected next week.
The Center of Budget provides a thorough summary of the House resolution, which points out that the budget plan "is notable for adhering to the Pay-As-You-Go rule the House adopted earlier this year."
Ironically, however, the House PAYGO rule does not actually require a deficit netural budget for FY 2008:
It shall not be in order to consider any bill, joint resolution, amendment, or conference report if the provisions of such measure affecting direct spending and revenues have the net effect of increasing the deficit or reducing the surplus for either the period comprising the current fiscal year and the five fiscal years beginning with the fiscal year that ends in the following calendar year or the period comprising the current fiscal year and the ten fiscal years beginning with the fiscal year that ends in the following calendar year.
