FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 1, 2023
Contact: Press_Paul@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343

WTAS: Dr. Rand Paul Introduces Conservative Alternative to Biden-McCarthy Debt Deal

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced his conservative alternative to the Biden-McCarthy debt deal. This alternative will be offered as an amendment to the so-called “Fiscal Responsibility Act” deal and would replace existing language with responsible reforms and necessary cuts.

“Sixty percent of Americans say Congress should only raise the nation’s debt ceiling if it cuts spending at the same time. I would guess the Americans answering that poll meant real cuts in spending, not an annual increase of one percent above already bloated levels of COVID-19 spending,” said Dr. Paul. “Bold actions must be taken to defeat our mounting national debt, and my conservative alternative to the Biden-McCarthy deal gives us a real opportunity to get our fiscal house in order.”

“The biggest threats to national security are the national debt and out-of-control spending. There is bipartisan support in Congress to continue spending taxpayer dollars in an irresponsible fashion; however, there is no consensus on how to get our federal budget under control and address the future of entitlement programs. Thankfully, Senator Rand Paul is once again leading the charge with his “Five Penny Plan,” which will help the federal government get its finances back on track. With inflation at an all-time high, now is the time for members of Congress to reassess their spending habits and take on the national debt crisis in a serious manner,” said Adam Brandon, President of FreedomWorks.

“The House-passed Fiscal Responsibility Act is a missed opportunity to address America’s debt and inflation crises that are both being caused by Washington’s addiction to out of control spending. Senators have an opportunity to improve the bill by adopting Senator Paul’s Five Penny Plan amendment, which would take a meaningful step towards cutting wasteful spending and balancing the budget within five years. Any Senator serious about getting America’s fiscal house in order should support Senator Paul’s amendment,” said Ryan Walker, Vice President of Government Relations, Heritage Action.

“The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste supports Sen. Paul’s amendment to cap spending for five years and achieve a balanced budget. His proposal to cut spending by 5 percent annually should be supported by every senator who believes in fiscal responsibility and getting the nation back on the right track,” said Tom Schatz, President, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste 

“While Congress has long ignored runaway spending, the problem has gotten much worse of late. Irresponsible congressional spending must be addressed and Sen. Paul’s amendment will bring some much-needed fiscal sanity to spending. Sen. Rand Paul has been raising the alarm on the federal deficit and rising debt with his Penny Plan since 2017. Had Congress listened then, it would have only taken one percent cuts to have a balanced budget today and raising the debt ceiling would not be an issue. The situation has become so dire, 6 percent cuts are now required to balance the budget in a similar timeframe. Still, Senator Paul’s plan would allow Congress flexibility to address the nation’s issues by focusing on topline spending cuts and preventing the current effective blank checks issued to agencies,” said David Williams, President of Taxpayers Protection Alliance.

“Senator Paul’s plan sets the standard for fiscal responsibility,” said Phil Kerpen, President of Committee to Unleash Prosperity.

“Americans for Limited Government urges passage of Senator Rand Paul’s (R-KY) amendment to the Biden-McCarthy Debt Deal to cut five cents out of every dollar spent by the federal government while restoring Congress’ Article One Constitutional control over federal spending. Senator Paul’s alternative leaves Social Security untouched while forcing our elected representatives to make real choices about how taxpayer dollars are spent. Americans are tired of empty balanced budget promises from politicians.  The Paul amendment lays a pathway to balance, something nowhere to be found in the debt ceiling bill passed by the House of Representatives yesterday in spite of bi-partisan opposition,” said Richard Manning, President Americans for Limited Government.

“Citizens for Renewing America supports Senator Rand Paul’s amendment, which will force real cuts to the woke and weaponized federal bureaucracy – unlike the Biden-McCarthy debt limit deal. This amendment is essential to restoring the fiscal sanity that has long been lacking in Washington and is a necessary corrective to the Biden-McCarthy debt limit legislation that does nothing to substantially reduce our national debt or deficits,” said Wade Miller, Executive Director of Citizens for Renewing America.

“Senator Rand Paul’s conservative alternative to the Debt deal is a strong step towards financial sanity.  If we want America to continue to be a land of opportunity and a place where average everyday Americans can achieve the American dream, we must make sure that the government isn’t fueling inflation and isn’t gobbling up so much of our economic capacity. So Senator Paul has put together a thoughtful plan that responsibly and carefully reduces government spending over several years which will slow inflationary pressures and speed up economic growth. We cannot keep kicking the debt bomb crisis down the road for future generations to defuse. We need to start defusing that destructive debt bomb now and Senator Paul has created a framework that defuses the debt bomb and fuels economic growth and prosperity for all,” said George Landrith, President of Frontiers of Freedom.

Full text to Dr. Paul’s amendment can be found HERE.

Dr. Paul also spoke about his amendment and the Biden-McCarthy deal on the Senate floor ahead of votes. You can watch his floor speech HERE.

BACKGROUND:

Dr. Paul’s amendment places caps on total on-budget outlays that decrease by 5 percent each year which are enforceable by sequester. This amendment does not touch Social Security and leaves Congress full discretion on which accounts to cut. The plan:

• Replaces the blanket two-year suspension of the debt ceiling with a $500 billion increase and replaces caps on discretionary spending with caps on total on-budget spending.
• Reduces spending by $303 billion in the first year, bringing on-budget outlays from $5.1 trillion down to $4.8 trillion.
• Triggers automatic cuts through sequester if the government continues to spend at excessive levels.
• Makes no specific policy assumptions –The budget caps total on-budget spending at levels necessary to balance and then calls on Congress to make the changes needed to achieve that objective.

The table below outlines the caps Dr. Paul’s amendment would set.

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