Todd: Obama's PAYGO "Sounds Like One Of Those Washington Schemes." "So you're saying this Pay-As-You-Go only applies to half of the budget, but it doesn't apply to discretionary spending, because that's year to year. Wait a minute, common sense says if you're going to Pay-As-You-Go, shouldn't that apply to everything? Isn't that the common sense test on this?' And that's the difficulty when you're selling it to middle America, where they're just going to sit there and say, 'Hey, this just sounds like one of those Washington schemes.'" (MSNBC's "Morning Joe," 6/10/09)
Maya MacGuineas, President Of The Bipartisan Committee For A Responsible Budget: "This is like quitting drinking, but making an exception for beer and hard liquor." (Lori Montgomery, "Some Democrats Warn Of Loophole In Obama's Pay-As-You-Go Rules," The Washington Post, 6/10/09)
Washington Post Editorial: Obama's PAYGO Rule Has "$2.8 Trillion Loophole." "First, as under existing House and Senate rules, what is known as the PAYGO law would not apply to discretionary spending programs, which account for about 40 percent of the federal budget ... Second, Mr. Obama would write into the law four whopping exceptions to the pay-as-you-go rule ... This adds up to a $2.8 trillion loophole over 10 years." (Editorial, "The Obama Diet," The Washington Post, 6/12/09)
Post: "[O]bama's Professions Of Being Willing To Make Hard Choices Are Belied By His Failure To Adjust His Spending Plans To Budgetary Reality." (Editorial, "The Obama Diet," The Washington Post, 6/12/09)
Post: Obama "[D]oesn't Deserve Much Credit For A Pay-As-You-Go Proposal That Elides This Reality Instead Of Confronting It." (Editorial, "The Obama Diet," The Washington Post, 6/12/09)
Washington Post's Lori Montgomery: Obama's PAYGO Plan Much Weaker Than Clinton Administration Policy. "One big difference between Obama's proposal and the Clinton-era rules, however, is that Obama would exempt an array of expensive policies currently in effect ... All told, those policies would increase annual budget deficits by more than $3.5 trillion over the next decade." (Lori Montgomery, "Some Democrats Warn Of Loophole In Obama's Pay-As-You-Go Rules," The Washington Post, 6/10/09)
Associated Press: Obama's Latest "'[P]ay-As-You-Go' Budget Formula Plan Is Significantly Weaker Than A Proposal Obama Issued With Little Fanfare Last Month." (Andrew Taylor, "Obama: It's OK To Borrow For Health Care," The Associated Press, 6/9/09)
Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND): Obama's PAYGO Will Not Reduce Deficit. "Pay-go can only do so much ... It can prevent the passage of new legislation that would worsen the deficit, but it does not address the deficits and debt projected under existing policy." ("Obama Urges 'Pay-Go' Legislation To Improve Budget Picture," FoxBusiness.com, 6/9/09)
New York Times: "[Last] Tuesday, Mr. Obama Was Talking About Saving Money, Not Spending It ... But Even If Paygo Were Restored, It Would Affect Only Future Spending, Without Putting A Dent In The Projected $1.8 Trillion Federal Deficit." (Sheryl Gay Stolberg, "One Day, Obama Pitches Stimulus Spending. The Next, He Urges Saving Money," The New York Times' "The Caucus" Blog, 6/9/09)
CBS News: OMB Director Peter Orszag Admits PAYGO Has Loopholes. "But briefing reporters, White House Budget Director Peter Orszag conceded some of PAYGO's limitations. It doesn't cover discretionary spending. In addition, about 40 percent of the federal budget, programs for education, energy, the military, etc., would not be covered by PAYGO ... As for existing deficits and the National Debt, which today stands at an all-time high of $1 1.39 trillion, PAYGO has no effect, other than to slow its growth by restraining some government spending." (Mark Knoller, "Would PAYGO Really Limit Spending?" CBS News' "Political Hotsheet," 6/9/09)
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