Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) today introduced a budget he says will balance the budget in five years with $2.3 trillion in tax cuts.
Paul’s “Platform to Revitalize America” brings spending below the historical average of 19.1 percent of GDP in the first year and spends $9.6 trillion less over the next 10 years based on the current Congressional Budget Office baseline. It achieves a $17 billion surplus in FY2018 and reforms entitlement programs — Medicare recipients, for example, would receive the same healthcare plan as members of Congress.
It replenishes $126 billion to the Defense Department stripped in sequestration and puts an annual cap on foreign aid at $5 billion. The plan also repeals ObamaCare and Dodd Frank.
Paul’s budget kills four government agencies: the departments of Commerce, Education, Housing and Urban Development, and Energy. It also privatizes the Transportation Security Administration.
“Washington has a serious and reckless spending problem that must be re-evaluated. American families across the country are required to live by a budget and Congress should be no different – every taxpayer dollar needs to be spent more wisely. Therefore, I am offering a plan that will address this country’s looming debt crisis in a truly timely manner – balancing the budget in just five years,” Paul said. “The time has come for a change that will restore fiscal order in this country, and I will do everything in my power to ensure that this happens.”
His budget includes a flat tax and lifts barriers to domestic energy exploration and production.
UPDATE: Late this evening the Senate voted on Paul’s budget as an amendment to the continuing resolution. It failed 18-81.
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