Bold, Young Senator

Greetings, Friends,

It is with a speck of hope that I write to you today about a bill that was introduced in the Senate on Jan. 25, S.162 "Cut Federal Spending Act of 2011."

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced S.162 hoping to make a much bolder point than the GOP-led House of Representatives has been talking about. Paul has openly criticized plans to cut Federal Spending in the next fiscal year by around $35 billion. The problem, according to this rookie, is that "We spend $35 billion in five days. We add $35 billion to the debt in nine days. It's not enough and we will not avoid financial ruin in our country if we do not think more boldly."

So just what does he propose we do? The simple, earmark-free, 11-page bill proposes a total of about $500 billion in cuts... for one fiscal year. I have got to say that is the boldest proposal of any of the 535 "leaders" on Capitol Hill. $500 billion in spending cuts. How does he do it?

S.162 cuts the budget of NUMEROUS federal programs and entitlements, and different branches of the federal government. Some of the proposed changes are as follows:

• Cuts the legislative branch by about $1.3 billion
• Cuts the judicial branch by about $2.4 billion
• Cuts the Dep. of Agriculture by $42 billion, completely annihilating things like the Agriculture Research Service, and the National Institute of Food & Agriculture
• Cuts the Dep. of Education by about $16.2 billion
• Completely defunds & destroys the Department of Housing & Urban Development
• Cuts the Dep. of State by about $20 billion
• Destroys things like the "National Endowment for the Arts" and the "Commission on Fine Arts" - did you know we were previously spending billions of dollars on things like these? Is that necessary for the federal government to care about the "arts"?
• Among others

Now, this is the kind of thing that the Republican Party should be moving towards. During the last few years, we may not have had enough Congressional Seats to influence anything, but holding a 56% majority in the House of Representatives is certainly enough to make some demands, and get things done. The problem is, if the Republicans in the House don't start acting more like Rand Paul, we're going to lose big time in the 2012 elections, and have a de ja vu experience from the 111th Congress. If you recall, during the 111th, the democratic party controlled the House, Senate, and the White House - do you remember what that allowed them to do? First and foremost, it allowed them to continue to trash our economy, and devalue the dollar, leaving us with a $1.3 trillion budget deficit, the largest in American history. We cannot let that happen.

Now, the question is, will Rand Paul's bold bill ever see the Senate Floor? Probably not. We already know Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will do whatever he can to keep this from passing. When this bill was introduced on the floor, he (obviously) objected to taking it up, which means it was placed on the Senate's calendar. As of today, the bill has not even been assigned to a committee for review. So how's the future look? As explained, probably not good. If this bill every does see the Floor again, it will likely be a completely different bill, proposing like $3 billion in cuts (even that probably wouldn't satisfy Harry Reid, who apparently feels government spending of any kind is a good thing).

Paul's introduction of S.162 is certainly a bold statement, one that demonstrates the growing presence of the anti-big government Tea Party in Congress. All we need now is more people like Rand Paul, in both chambers, and eventually, as a candidate for the 2012 Presidential race.