WASHINGTON, DC — Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04) recently was recognized as a 2024 Fiscal Hero by the Committee for a Responsible Budget’s “Fix the Debt” program for his work to reduce the U.S. national debt.

“America cannot continue borrowing to pay our bills. By refusing to pay for our choices now, we are taking choices away from our children and grandchildren,” said Thompson. “As Ranking Member of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Tax Policy, I'm working to ensure Congress takes a balanced approach that asks everyone to pay their fair share in taxes, gets spending under control, and grows our economy.”

“Fiscal responsibility is a stewardship, not only for Americans today but for generations of Americans to come. We applaud this year’s Fiscal Heroes, including Representative Thompson, for having the courage to prioritize our fiscal health and work towards achieving a more sustainable debt trajectory. Through legislation, speeches, engagement back home, and tough political decisions, these Members of Congress have distinguished themselves as leaders on these key issues, and we are honored to recognize and applaud them for their efforts. We look forward to seeing how these Fiscal Heroes will build on the momentum in the past year to make even greater strides going forward,” said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and head of Fix the Debt.

Rep. Thompson has long supported implementation of PAYGO rules for congressional spending. These provisions require tax cuts and spending increases to be offset with new revenues or spending cuts.

Rep. Thompson supported the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which is helping reduce the U.S. deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars without a penny in new taxes on families making under $400,000 per year and ensures billion-dollar corporations are contributing to the communities they rely on with a 15 percent minimum tax for large corporations.

Fiscal Heroes are awarded each Congress to recognize policymakers working to improve the nation's fiscal situation and fix the budget process.

Fiscal Heroes have distinguished themselves by pushing their party leaders to make debt a priority, leading bipartisan efforts to work through policy options to fix the debt and the budget process, taking responsible votes, participating in fiscally focused events, using their town hall meetings to engage and educate constituents, delivering floor speeches to raise awareness about the issue, advocating to keep tough choices on the table, and introducing legislation to improve the budget process and the nation's fiscal position.

Thompson represents California’s Fourth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo counties.