this year than in the previous 220 years combined , '' said Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia , the House Minority Whip . However , a group of fiscally conservative Democratic representatives known as the Blue Dogs called Obama 's proposal responsible and necessary . `` President Obama inherited an economy in free-fall and a $ 10.6 trillion national debt , '' said Rep. Jim Cooper of Tennessee , vice-chairman of the Blue Dog Budget and Financial Services Task Force . `` While short-term spending was necessary to get the economy moving again , our long-term fiscal problems became that much more urgent . '' A White House statement said Obama 's proposal calls for the Office of Management and Budget to maintain a ledger of the average 10-year budgetary effects of all legislation affecting mandatory spending or baseline tax levels . Any extra cost that lacks payment authorized by Congress would require the president to find money within the budget to pay it , while any tax cut would require a corresponding increase in tax revenue . Some costs would be exempt , including Medicare payments to doctors , the estate and gift tax , and tax cuts enacted
WASHINGTON -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- President Obama on Tuesday proposed making `` pay-as-you-go '' rules for federal spending into law . President Obama proposed Tuesday that the government adopt `` pay-as-you-go '' rules for federal spending . The so-called PAYGO proposal requires Congress to balance any increased spending by equal savings elsewhere , Obama said in announcing the measure that now goes to Congress . A previous PAYGO mandate helped erase federal budget deficits in the 1990s , and subsequent ineffective rules contributed to the current budget deficits , Obama said . Now the PAYGO rules should be the law , he said . `` Paying for what you spend is basic common sense , '' Obama said . `` Perhaps that 's why , here in Washington , it 's been so elusive . '' Republican leaders said the proposal comes after record spending initiatives by the Obama administration , such as the $ 787 billion economic stimulus program . `` It seems a tad disingenuous for the president and Speaker -LSB- Nancy -RSB- Pelosi to talk about PAYGO rules after ramming trillions in spending through Congress proposing policies that create more debt in the first six months of