U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has proposed a conservative alternative to the Biden-McCarthy debt deal, which he announced on May 30, 2023.
The proposed plan aims to replace the language in the current “Fiscal Responsibility Act” (FRA) with a variety of fiscal reforms and spending cuts.
In his press release, Dr. Paul stated, “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.”
The Kentucky Senator further stated his concern about the rising national debt and outlined his alternative plan: “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,” he said.
The Senator’s amendment to the FRA has several key components designed to tackle the country’s debt crisis.
Firstly, it would replace the current two-year suspension on the debt ceiling with a $500 billion increase, compelling Congress to “come back to the table to do their job and figure out solutions to the cascading debt issue highlighted by the debt ceiling.”
Secondly, Dr. Paul’s proposal replaces the current caps on discretionary spending with caps on total spending, which includes both discretionary and mandatory spending.
The proposal aims for a cut of “five percent spent each year.”
The proposal also includes a fail-safe measure for federal spending.
“If the government continues to spend at current rates, this plan would trigger an automatic $302 billion cut in FY24 and another $241 billion cut in FY25 for a total of $545 billion in the two-year period,” the press release reads.
By following these caps for five years, the Senator suggests that “by FY28 the federal government would have the first balanced budget since 2001.”
Finally, the amendment introduces a requirement that “growth in federal outlays may at no point exceed the growth in revenue from the previous fiscal year.”
Dr. Paul’s proposal sets new caps and outlines the total cuts per year from the Fiscal Year 2023 enacted levels, offering a detailed roadmap for fiscal responsibility.
His conservative alternative to the Biden-McCarthy debt deal signals a rigorous effort to confront the nation’s growing debt issue.
“I absolutely will not vote to expand our national debt by $4 trillion,” Paul tweeted on Tuesday. “When the Biden-McCarthy debt deal reaches the senate, I will offer a conservative alternative.”
