There is also already a statutory version of pay-go on the books, making the House rule more symbolic than anything else. The pay-go rule gets both politics and economics wrong, and it sends exactly the opposite message that Democrats should be trying to send as they hold a majority in the House for the first time in eight years. (Republicans also waived pay-go to pass tax cuts without paying for them in 2001 and 2003.) While progressive leaders are promising that lawmakers will waive the pay-go rule when they consider their marquee plans, it’s not a given, which means Democrats just erected a hurdle in front of their own supposed priorities. ASSOCIATED PRESS Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was one of only three Democrats to vote against the rules package because of the inclusion of pay-go.

Source: Huffington Post January 04, 2019 20:15 UTC