Congressman Keith Self Introduces Bill to Strengthen Fiscal Discipline and Rein in the Federal Deficit

Congressman Keith Self (TX-03) introduced the Super Pay-As-You-Go Act, legislation that would significantly strengthen the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) Act of 2010. The bill would require new legislation that increases direct spending or reduces revenue to be offset by savings equal to at least twice its budgetary cost-a "2-for-1" standard that goes well beyond current law's dollar-for-dollar requirement. The legislation also closes major loopholes by tightening emergency designations, prohibiting the practice of burying PAYGO waivers in omnibus packages, and raising the threshold for waivers in the Senate.

The original Statutory PAYGO Act of 2010 requires that new mandatory spending or tax cuts be offset dollar-for-dollar, so they do not add to the deficit. However, lawmakers have frequently used emergency designations and waivers to bypass its requirements.

"Washington has spent decades spending money it doesn't have," Congressman Self said. "The result is a national debt approaching $40 trillion dollars and a burden that will fall on Americans' children and grandchildren. The Super PAYGO Act restores a simple principle: if Congress wants to create new spending, it must produce even greater savings elsewhere. The days of treating deficit spending as business as usual must come to an end."

Key provisions within the Super Pay-As-You-Go Act:

• The "2-for-1" Super PAYGO Rule: A bill is compliant only if total savings equal or exceed two times the total budgetary costs over 5-year and 10-year windows (e.g., a $100B cost requires a $200B offset).
• Eliminating the "Emergency" Loophole: Limits emergency spending to provisions that are sudden, urgent, unforeseen, temporary, and necessary to address threats to life, public safety, national security, or significant property damage. Emergency designations may apply only to specific provisions, rather than entire bills, and automatically expire after 24 months.
• Standalone Requirement: Prohibits burying PAYGO waivers or scorecard exclusions inside omnibus bills, appropriations, continuing resolutions, or any other legislative vehicle. Waivers must be standalone bills. If a point of order is sustained against an illegal buried waiver, only that specific clause is struck from the bill.
• Congressional Points of Order: Establishes points of order in both chambers against legislation that CBO determines violates the Super PAYGO requirement, requiring separate waiver votes before such legislation may proceed.
• House Waiver Restrictions: Requires any House waiver of a Super PAYGO point of order, PAYGO waiver restriction, or scorecard exclusion restriction to receive a separate roll call vote identifying the specific provision being waived and its fiscal impact.
• Senate Waiver Restrictions: Requires any Senate waiver of a Super PAYGO point of order, PAYGO waiver restriction, or scorecard exclusion restriction to be approved by a two-thirds vote.
• Automatic Sequestration: If a Super PAYGO deficit remains on the scorecards at the end of a session, OMB is legally required to issue an automatic sequestration (across-the-board spending cuts) to fully claw back the shortfall. Retains the 2010 Act's core baseline exemptions, ensuring Social Security, Veterans' benefits, and Medicaid are fully shielded from automatic sequestration.
• Committee Disclosure: Mandates that all committee reports accompanying direct spending or revenue bills must include an explicit CBO-backed statement describing whether a bill meets the 2-for-1 requirement.

• Public Accountability: Requires OMB to publish annual online reports detailing Super PAYGO scorecard balances, deficit reduction achieved, emergency designations, sequestration orders, and the fiscal impact of any enacted waivers or scorecard exclusions.

  
  ###