{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-introduces-penny-plan-balanced-budget/", "Dr. Rand Paul Introduces \u2018Penny Plan Balanced Budget\u2019", "2018-04-18", "2018", "2018-04", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Rand Paul", "P000603", "www.paul.senate.gov", "paul", "https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/", "scraper", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:\n\nApril 18, 2018\n\nContact: Press@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced his own \u201cPenny Plan\u201d federal budget that will balance within five years by assuming the repeal of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 and utilizing the \u201cPenny Plan.\u201d Dr. Paul\u2019s budget includes instructions that would pave the way for the expansion of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) to help Americans more easily cover their health care costs.\n\n\u201cI ran for office to put a stop to Washington\u2019s out-of-control spending and skyrocketing debt. It\u2019s time for conservatives to govern like conservatives, and my budget plan gives our Republican-controlled Congress a chance to prove to the American people that it is serious about getting our fiscal house in order,\u201d said Dr. Paul.\n\nDr. Paul\u2019s balanced budget also reforms Congress\u2019 reconciliation and budget processes \u2013 all without making any changes to Social Security. Senate rules allow any senator to offer a budget if Senate leadership and the Budget committee do not report out a budget by April 1. As the bill would be a privileged motion, Dr. Paul\u2019s budget will receive a vote on the Senate floor.\n\nYou can find more background on Dr. Paul\u2019s proposal below, and you can read the bill below. Earlier today, Dr. Paul held a press conference on his budget proposal, and you can watch his remarks HERE.\n\nYou can also find a full budget report HERE. This budget report is a plain-text articulation of what is included in the budget resolution. The report also provides historical context, rationales, and supporting arguments for Dr. Paul\u2019s proposed changes, including those both inside and outside the scope of simply changing spending levels.\n\nDr. Rand Paul\u2019s Balanced Budget:\n\n\u2022 Dr. Paul\u2019s budget simply states that for every on-budget dollar the federal government spent in FY18, excluding the BBA, it spend one penny less for the next five years (at which point balance is reached), with spending then growing at one percent thereafter.\n\n\u2022 Reduces spending by $404.8B in FY19 and by $13.35T over 10 years relative to baseline.\n\n\u2022 Total spending still increases by 14.6 percent over the ten-year window. Only in Washington could a 14.6 percent increase be characterized as a cut.\n\n\u2022 Balances without making any changes to Social Security.\n\n\u2022 Makes no specific policy assumptions \u2013 all the savings are reflected in a new budget function (Function number 930: New Efficiencies, Consolidations, and Other Savings). This budget sets a goal of balance and then calls on Congress to use the tools provided to make the changes in law needed to achieve that objective.\n\nThe BBA of 2018\n\n\u2022 The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 raised the discretionary spending caps imposed by the Budget Control Act of 2011 nearly $300 billion. With federal debt over $21 trillion, the negative impact of borrowing more money for this spending outweighs any benefit derived from it.\n\nExpansion of Health Savings Accounts\n\n\u2022 Provides reconciliation instructions to the Senate Finance Committee to allow for expanded HSAs. Senator Paul\u2019s HSA expansion would allow patients to save for their entire out-of-pocket costs and use HSAs to pay premiums, while also widening eligible disbursements to include supplements, over-the-counter medicine, and other activities that promote wellness and reduce the overall cost of health care.\n\nReconciliation and Budget Process Reform\n\n\u2022 Provides reconciliation instructions to all committees with mandatory spending, ensuring every eligible committee participates in the reconciliation process, as was the process\u2019 original purpose.\n\n\u2022 Raises the waiver threshold for all budget points of order so the Senate is held to a higher standard.\n\n\u2022 Makes the budget spending totals enforceable for 10 years instead of just one.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-27T22:54:51Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-introduces-penny-plan-balanced-budget/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4320160262286663, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}