{"id":576876,"date":"2023-06-01T02:43:31","date_gmt":"2023-05-31T23:43:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/paul-to-force-tough-debt-ceiling-vote-to-cut-total-spending\/"},"modified":"2023-06-01T02:43:31","modified_gmt":"2023-05-31T23:43:31","slug":"paul-to-force-tough-debt-ceiling-vote-to-cut-total-spending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/paul-to-force-tough-debt-ceiling-vote-to-cut-total-spending\/","title":{"rendered":"#Paul to force tough debt-ceiling vote to cut total spending\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/03\/paulrand_032223gn01_w.jpg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><em>CLARIFICATION: Paul\u2019s office says that under his spending plan, <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social<\/a> Security will be exempt from cuts. <\/em><\/p>\n<p>Conservative Sen.\u00a0Rand Paul\u00a0(R-Ky.) says he will force the Senate to vote this week on cutting total federal spending by 5 percent in each of the next two years, a proposal that could put popular programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act under scrutiny. \u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Paul told reporters Tuesday that he would insist on a vote on his amendment in exchange for yielding back time on the Senate floor and giving leaders a chance to pass the debt-limit bill before the nation faces default next week.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Paul\u2019s proposal, which he is calling a \u201cconservative alternative\u201d to the deal negotiated by President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), poses an uncomfortable vote for Senate Republicans, one which it divides their conference.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A \u201cno\u201d vote opens GOP senators to criticism from conservatives who say that policymakers who exempt mandatory spending programs from reform are not serious about balancing the budget.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A \u201cyes\u201d vote risks alienating seniors who are worried about seeing their Medicare benefits cut or veterans who now receive more federal aid through mandatory spending through the PACT Act, which Congress passed last year. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A press release issued by Paul\u2019s office Tuesday didn\u2019t mention any exception for Social Security, and Paul while speaking with reporters that day also did not say Social Security would be exempted. After an initial version of this story was published, a spokesperson for Paul clarified that Social Security would be exempted. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was referring to on-budget spending, which excludes Social Security. His Penny Plan has never touched Social Security and it\u2019s not allowed under the budget rules,\u201d said Kelsey Cooper, referring to a past budget resolution sponsored by Paul to cut spending. \u201cHis Penny Plan has also never specified cuts to Medicare or any other program \u2014 it only gives topline numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>When he spoke with reporters on Tuesday, Paul said his plan didn\u2019t specify what programs Congress should cut to balance the budget in five years but that it would pressure lawmakers to look at a range of entitlement programs to achieve $545 billion in cuts over two years. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Asked whether he would reach his target of an annual 5 percent annual cut to all federal spending \u201cby going through entitlements,\u201d Paul responded: \u201cWe get there by putting a top line number of what it would take for the entire budget.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe committees would have to determine where the cuts would be. So there still would be for room for people to disagree and debate over exactly where they want the cuts but there would be an absolute topline number for the entire budget that over the next two years would be on the way to balance in five years,\u201d he explained. \u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act and other health care programs account for nearly 50 percent of all spending.\u00a0As a result, it is very difficult to balance the budget without touching such programs.<\/p>\n<p>The Postal Service would also be exempt from his plan because along with Social Security it is classified as \u201coff budget\u201d spending, according to a Senate GOP aide.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Republicans have spent months running away from the accusation President Biden leveled at his \u201cState of the Union\u201d address that they want to cut Medicare. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>If Paul were able to force a vote on his measure, they would find themselves having to vote on deep, across-the-board funding cuts that would likely affect a range of popular mandatory spending programs that are largely excluded from discussions about fiscal reform. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>McCarthy took Social Security and Medicare cuts off the table early in the year. Some conservatives think that was a mistake.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Paul says that under his proposal, \u201cthere would be an absolute top-line number for the entire budget that over the next two years would be on its way to balance in five years.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>He says the McCarthy-Biden plan, which was <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roved in a bipartisan vote by the House on Wednesday night, \u00a0falls short of making a meaningful dent in the federal deficit because \u201cthey\u2019re only really looking at non-military discretionary\u201d spending, which accounts for only 17 percent of the federal budget. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He argued that mandatory spending programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are the biggest drivers of the debt. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMandatory spending is enormous. It\u2019s over half of the spending every year; it\u2019s going up at 5 percent a year,\u201d Paul said. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr6_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cThis specular deal that we\u2019ve gotten tries to slow down spending on nonmilitary discretionary [spending,] so it does nothing,\u201d he added with a dose of sarcasm. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Sen.\u00a0Mike Lee\u00a0(R-Utah), another outspoken critic of the Biden-McCarthy deal, says mandatory spending programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid do \u201chave to be considered\u201d as part of any meaningful deficit reduction deal. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Lee said a 5 percent, across-the-board reduction in federal spending will be criticized as \u201cabrupt\u201d or \u201cdraconian,\u201d but he argues the consequences of letting the debt continue to grow by a couple trillion dollars every year are scary. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr7_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cIf you want to talk at draconian and abrupt, look at what happens the moment our borrowing costs because of our profligate spending practices and because of interest rates and other factors \u2026 returns to the historical average of five percent,\u201d he said. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur annual interest payments will very quickly go up well over a trillion dollars a year,\u201d he warned. \u201cIt could easily exceed \u2026 our entire defense budget, and within a few years, we could see our total interest on debt outlays even coming to exceed our entire discretionary spending outlays.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Sen.\u00a0Mike Braun\u00a0(R-Ind.), who will also vote against the debt limit bill, said federal spending as a percentage of the nation\u2019s gross domestic product has gone into \u201cthe stratosphere.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou got to make those hard decisions like any real leader would do,\u201d he said. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He says Social Security and Medicare, which he called \u201cthe drivers\u201d of the debt, should be on the negotiating table \u201cin terms of saving it.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSooner or later, the programs that drive the structural deficits\u201d such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid \u201cwill have to be looked at, and everybody knows that here,\u201d Braun said. <\/p>\n<p>Paul\u2019s proposal is expected to pick up only around 20 votes, because many Senate Republicans don\u2019t want to their favorite programs, in particular defense spending, to face steep cuts. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Biden and Senate Democrats have hammered the GOP relentlessly over the 12 Point Plan to Save America, which Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) introduced last year and calls for a sunset of all federal legislation after a period of five years.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Scott said he never intended to sunset Medicare or Social Security, but that didn\u2019t stop Democrats from using the plan as a bludgeon. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Scott amended it earlier this year to create specific exceptions for Social Security, Medicare, national security and veterans benefits.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), who supports the debt limit deal, said Paul and other conservatives are correct that \u201cyou can\u2019t balance the budget solely on discretionary spending.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t see how, in the context of raising the debt ceiling, that you could have gotten anything more than Kevin McCarthy got,\u201d Cramer said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But he said McCarthy probably took Social Security and Medicare off the table too early in the debate.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Asked if that was a mistake, Cramer said, \u201cyeah, I think it was.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But he argued it might have been the right political move. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have this crazy political <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a> going on where everybody out-Social Security the other people instead of being straight up and honest with the American public and say, \u2018We won\u2019t do any harm to anybody\u2019s existing Social Security, and we\u2019re going to have a forward-leaning solution,\u2019\u201d he said. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Cramer acknowledged Congress \u201cmissed the opportunity, so to speak\u201d to make big fiscal reforms to Social Security and Medicare but he said the \u201cthreat of default is so big\u201d that it limited how bold Republicans could be in making demands.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who has said in the past that split party control of government provides a good opportunity to enact big, controversial reform, acknowledged Wednesday it\u2019s been very tough to make any headway on Social Security or Medicare reforms.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s been challenging over the years to get both sides to look at the very large picture,\u201d McConnell told reporters. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But he praised the McCarthy-Biden deal for cutting spending, after Congress increased it by more than $2.7 trillion through two partisan reconciliation bills in 2021 and 2022, under Democratic control of Congress.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt least we\u2019re going in a different direction,\u201d he said. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>This story was updated at 12:23 a.m.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/senate\/4029350-rand-paul-to-force-senate-vote-on-potential-cuts-to-social-security-medicare\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CLARIFICATION: Paul\u2019s office says that under his spending plan, Social Security will be exempt from cuts. Conservative Sen.\u00a0Rand Paul\u00a0(R-Ky.) says he will force the Senate to vote this week on cutting total federal spending by 5 percent in each of the next two years, a proposal that could put popular programs such as Medicare, Medicaid&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":576877,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/03\/paulrand_032223gn01_w.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[134344,116734,73798,143687,90482,991,35813,100275,135665,135780,87647,71694,4965],"class_list":["post-576876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-administration","tag-debt-ceiling","tag-defense","tag-entitlement-reform","tag-house","tag-joe-biden","tag-kevin-mccarthy","tag-medicare","tag-mike-braun","tag-mike-lee","tag-rand-paul","tag-social-security","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=576876"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576876\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/576877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=576876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=576876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=576876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}