MADISON, Wis — Ron Johnson is supporting Senator Rand Paul’s radical Five Penny Plan, which would gut our federal budget, mandate “enormous cuts to practically every aspect of federal operations,”and potentially jeopardize programs like Medicare and Medicaid, USDA Rural Development, and national security efforts. Johnson’s support of this dangerous budget comes following his comment that, he “wouldn’t have an Education Department for sure” and that “there’s plenty more” critical programs to cut.
“Time and time again, Ron Johnson has shown he is out of step with Wisconsinites’ priorities and support of the Five Penny Plan — which could mean cuts to vital programs millions of Wisconsin families depend on — is just the latest example,” said Philip Shulman, Wisconsin Democratic Party spokesperson. “Johnson continues to prove to Wisconsinites that his priority is enriching his megadonors and himself, and we can’t trust him to look out for our best interests in the Senate.”
Senator Rand Paul’s Five Penny budget plan would impose “austerity measures that would both hurt millions of American families” and undermine our economy. Read more on the budget below:
MSNBC: Rand Paul’s radical budget plan receives significant GOP backing
By Steve Benen
Key Points:
- Last week, as part of the debate over the Democratic budget plan, Paul introduced his own budget blueprint as an alternative and offered it as a proposed amendment.
- …This isn’t just a proposal that tinkers around the edges of federal spending. Rand Paul’s goal is to eliminate a multi-trillion-dollar budget deficit in five years — for reasons unknown — without raising any taxes on anyone by any amount.
- To achieve such a goal, the GOP senator would mandate enormous cuts to practically every aspect of federal operations, slashing hundreds of billions of dollars in federal investments every year, imposing austerity that would both hurt millions of Americans families and severely undermining the domestic economy.
- And while that helps explain why Paul’s budget plan was defeated, it doesn’t change the fact that most of the Senate Republican conference voted for it.
- Among the Republicans who voted for the radical blueprint are members of the Senate Republican leadership — Florida’s Rick Scott, South Dakota’s John Thune, and Wyoming’s John Barrasso — as well as some members who are up for re-election next year, including Florida’s Marco Rubio, Wisconsin’s Ron Johnson, and Iowa’s Chuck Grassley.
