Sen. Rand Paul Proposes Budget Tomorrow

It has been more than 1,000 days since the Democratic-controlled Senate has passed a budget.  That's longer than the Siege of Leningrad, and Sen. Rand Paul has had enough.

Tomorrow, Paul will propose: his FY2013 budget, "A Platform to Revitalize America."

Note the use of the word "Platform."  It evokes a presidential bid, perhaps deliberately so. 

Paul's platform will include a plan to balance the budget in 5 years.  He also calls for passage of the REINS Act, which would require that major executive branch regulations be subject to approval by Congress. That would certainly slow down the growth of the regulatory state and shake up lobbying and lawyering under the Administrative Procedure Act.

Paul's staff has been promoting this event for several days, and will include a blogger call as well as a press conference.  This is a well-orchestrated event.

Paul will be joined by by Sens. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Mike Lee (R-UT) -- the Senate Tea Party Caucus.

In addition to the budget, Paul will discuss energy policy. Paul will call for more domestic exploration and drilling, in contrast to the Obama administration policies -- a contributing factor to the $6 a gallon gas now selling in California.

Sen. Paul Opposes House Bill

I had hoped that once John Boehner amended his bill to include a call for a balanced budget amendment that Sen. Rand Paul might support it. Not so. Sen. Paul's ideological purity allows no room for compromise, which is unfortunate since he has chosen to serve in the legislative branch. He ignores the reality that much good can be achieved through sustained, incremental changes. Sure, we'd all like to see bigger, faster cuts. But the federal government didn't get this bloated over-night, and it can't be dismantled over-night.

Here is Sen. Paul's statement in response to last evening's passage of the Boehner bill:

I stand in opposition tonight to the recent debt ‘deal’ passed in the House and presented to the Senate. This two-tier approach allows for a $1 trillion debt limit increase immediately, while putting off the discussion of a Balanced Budget Amendment to a later date. I’ve pledged to not vote for any debt limit increase not tied to a Balanced Budget Amendment. Increased debt now, with promises to fix the problem later, is what has gotten us into our current debt crisis. I remain committed to working with my colleagues to find a solution that raises the debt limit while fixing the debt problem.