PAYGO, the Blue Dogs' signature issue, passes House 265-166

Mike Ross tweets that moderate Blue Dog Democrats played an active role in pushing their signature legislation through the House today. The legislation at issue would reinstate a "pay-as-you-go" statute that requires tax cuts or new benefit programs be paid for with tax increases or cuts to other programs. If the "pay-go" law is broken and new legislation adds to the deficit, automatic spending cuts would kick in to make up the difference, similar to our Revenue Stabilization Act.

PAYGO rules were in effect in the late 1990s, which successfully resulted in a $236 billion surplus under former President Bill Clinton by 2000. The bill faces an uphill battle in the Senate.