Hoyer Addresses Fiscal Issues

November 21 - Recently, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) addressed the National Press Club, expressing the need for both short-term, deficit-financed stimulus and long-term fiscal responsibility. As Hoyer explained:

"Fiscal hawk that I am, I still believe that [more borrowing] is the right course, because a wide consensus of economists tells us that deficit spending is both the way out of recession like this one and the way to prevent even more catastrophic decline."

At the same time he argued:

"In the long run, fiscal responsibility can and must be a watchword of our majority... We are now experiencing the stark, painful reality that debt does, indeed, matter...We must pay for what we buy, but more than that, we must buy the right things. Wise investments will grow our economy, guard our national security, and protect the health of our people... We have a window to truly set our fiscal house in order, ensuring the public and the markets that, even as we make necessary investments today, we are prepared for the years to come."