Let’s just get something out of the way. The so-called “pay-as-you-go” rule that House Democrats have touted as one of the reforms they’ve implemented for the 116th Congress is meaningless. Despite the rule, the House will pass legislation that increases the budget deficit, leaving more debt for taxpayers.

Tucked away in the rules that House Democrats rolled out at the beginning of the 116th Congress is a provision that temporarily suspends the debt limit if the House of Representatives passes a budget resolution. The provision is what’s known as a self-executing rule. This may be legislative inside baseball, but it's a rather radical change to the rules that differs from even from a similar rule employed in the past.