Once again, only Rand Paul seems concerned with stopping the government’s reckless spending
Christopher Tremoglie
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America’s government and spending unnecessarily go together like peas and carrots. It’s a costly problem that has significantly increased the national debt and contributed to the country’s record-breaking inflation. This year’s omnibus bill only exacerbates this problem. Ever the fiscal hawk, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) once again looked to curb government spending and warned of the problems to come if nothing changed. Over the last two days, he introduced legislation to limit spending and also released his 2022 Festivus Report.
This year’s Festivus Report highlighted the trillions of dollars the government wastes on unnecessary projects. In the report, Paul highlighted the spending from this past year and how dire the nation’s fiscal challenges will be over the next three decades.
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“Last Festivus, we lamented over the national debt reaching an astronomical $28.4 trillion. Shockingly, in one short year, the career politicians and bureaucrats in Washington have managed to breeze right past $30 trillion without so much as a second thought,” the Republican senator wrote. “The debt has risen so rapidly that the Congressional Budget Office projects that, within the next 30 years, there is not a single year in which the federal budget will balance.”
Additionally, Paul sought help from his fellow senators to hold Congress accountable and curb such reckless spending. While highlighting the problems in the omnibus yesterday, Paul introduced an amendment, SA 6561, to make Congress pay for the nearly $2 trillion spending bill instead of just adding it to the debt. Unfortunately, the Senate rejected his efforts.
It is indicative of a larger problem in the nation, as the government’s spending is now unsustainable. Fiscal responsibility used to be a conservative Republican issue, but Paul seems to be the only one serious about curbing spending. The omnibus bill massively adds to the national debt, increases the size of the government’s bureaucracy, and omits any accountability for government spending.
Paul wanted to change that, but his efforts were sabotaged by both Democrats and Republicans. By usurping a law known as PAYGO, Congress was able to add trillions of dollars to the deficit without having any plan on how to pay for such spending. In an op-ed for the Washington Examiner last year, Paul warned about this exact thing.
“According to the law that governs Congress’s budget process, this spending has to be offset by equal cuts from somewhere else,” he wrote. “The law is called PAYGO. But Republican leadership and Democrats are going to waive PAYGO, allowing Biden’s spending spree to become debt instead of being offset by spending cuts.”
Paul’s legislation would have amended the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and increased the number of votes required in the Senate from 60 to 67 to waive the budget points of order. Previously, Congress set multiple guardrails to avoid passing any legislation that would increase the national deficit. Yet, these have rarely, if ever, been used due to congressional loopholes in voting. As a result, the deficit continues to increase.
As yesterday’s vote showed, congressional spending is out of control. Paul introduced the amendment to limit the fiscal destruction the government has been getting away with for far too long. Had the amendment passed, it would have addressed the overspending concerns and blocked the bill until Congress made numerous revisions and spending cuts.
Of particular concern were the Republican senators who voted against Paul’s amendment, many of whom previously touted their support for limiting government spending. Among the senators to cave were Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Lisa Murkowski (R-AL), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Susan Collins (R-ME), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Rob Portman (R-OH), Richard Shelby (R-AL), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Roger Wicker (R-MS).
To say it is discouraging to see this many Republicans go against Paul’s quest to limit government spending is an understatement. These are legislators supposed to be the adults in the room and proponents of sustainable government spending. Why they would go along with this bill is undoubtedly puzzling, and it should raise questions about their commitments to fiscal responsibility.
Failing to use their authority to make any meaningful change to the omnibus bill’s wasteful spending will ultimately harm the country in the long run. They let the Republican Party down, but more importantly, they let the country down. Paul cannot continue to be the only senator who takes action to curb our country’s reckless spending habits. Otherwise, our country is doomed.
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