Autumn Price
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is proposing that the United States use spending cuts to fund approximately $8 billion in aid for areas hit by Hurricane Harvey.
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The senator says that the GOP should add spending cuts to the House-passed hurricane bill once it reaches the Senate. For now, Republicans are expected to attach a deal that would continue to fund the government and raise the debt ceiling for three months.
Being against deficit spending and increasing the debt ceiling is nothing new for Paul.
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“As the Senate prepares to vote on hurricane aid, I will be introducing an ‘America First’ amendment to cut wasteful spending from abroad to pay for much-needed relief here at home,” Paul said, adding that “any new spending should be offset by significant reforms.”
Paul’s spending cuts sit in stark contrast to President Trump’s Wednesday deal with Democrats, which would package Harvey relief funding with an increase in the debt ceiling and government funding bill.
According to the The Hill, the cuts proposed by Paul would cover the $7.85 billion included in the House approved bill “as well as an additional $ 2.15 billion that could be used for Harvey recovery or Hurricane Irma, which is currently on track to hit Florida.”
The Hill also notes that according to Paul’s office, the spending cuts would come from funds set aside for foreign aid but have not been spent yet.
Meanwhile, other conservative senators are already critical of President Trump’s deal.
“We shouldn’t raise #DebtCeiling w/o reform or cuts. That’s the purpose of a debt limit. 3-mo. deal doesn’t do either,” Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) tweeted on Wednesday.
Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) seemed to agree with Lankford, tweeting, “The Pelosi-Schumer-Trump deal is bad.”
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