Congressman Hoyer is fighting to address our nation's deep deficits and debt, and is actively engaged in the efforts to put our country on a path to a balanced budget. He believes that it is immoral to expect future generations to be burdened with the spending of this and previous generations.   He introduced and successfully helped enact into law the pay-as-you-go principle - or "PAYGO" - a proven tool for fighting debt that that helped create budget surpluses in the 1990s.

Under the PAYGO law, Congress must pay for all new policies that call for new entitlement spending or reduce revenue, so that they add nothing to our deficit. In short, like families across the country, Congress must make the tough choices to determine our real priorities.  PAYGO also forces Congress to look harder for wasteful spending that can be cut.

Congressman Hoyer has called on Congress to enact a big, bold, balanced deficit reduction plan that recognizes the need to create jobs in the short term while bringing down our deficit over the long term. He supports a solution that puts all options on the table, including spending cuts, increasing revenues, cutting waste in defense spending, and strengthening entitlements while protecting seniors and the most vulnerable and preserving the Medicare guarantee. He has urged both parties to compromise on a balanced approach that asks all Americans to contribute their fair share.