Republicans unanimously vote against fiscal responsibility

President Barack Obama Friday signed into law a bill that raises the US debt ceiling to 14.3 trillion dollars. Obama signed the measure at a time of rising public anxiety over increasing US government debts and deficits.

Included in the law were PAYGO budget rules. These budget rules require that any spending proposals must either be budget neutral or offset with savings derived from existing funds. The Democrats goal in passing these rules is to force Congress to engage in carefully prioritizing expenses and exercising fiscal restraint.

  

Every Republican in the House and Senate voted against these PAYGO rules.

House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi said that the PAYGO measure was a vital step towards ending the kind of fiscal irresponsibility that buckled US government finances.

"It has a proven track record of success," Pelosi said."When instituted in the 1990s, it produced record surpluses; when abandoned by the Bush administration and the Republican-led Congress in the last decade, we were left with record deficits. "Today, these irresponsible practices will end."

So much for the republican talking points of being the party of fiscal responsibility.