Rand Paul says he won't vote for the first proposed unbalanced GOP budget

The new year is fast approaching, and with new budgetary changes on the docket the GOP is set to pass resolutions in 2017. However, not on board is Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky), who is not at all impressed with the way the new Republican resolutions fail to actually balance the budget.

One of these resolutions will end up killing the failed Affordable Care Act, a proposition Paul is a huge proponent of, however he has said he cannot vote for it if it continues to increase our mounting debt.

From the Libertarian Republic:

“Well, it won’t balance ever, you know, and I’ve told them I can’t vote for a budget that never balances,” he told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “And their response to me is that ‘Oh, we’re not even calling it a budget anymore, we’ve changed the title, it’s called the vehicle to repeal Obamacare.’”

Paul believes that with Republicans about to take all three branches of government, the right should aim higher, and balance sooner.

Proponents argue they need to pass the bill if they want to avoid needing 60 votes to do away with President Barack Obama’s landmark health care legislation. But Paul said with Republicans about to take control of all three branches of government, Congress should be able to construct a budget that balances within five years. There are at least two members of his party who are not on board with the budget in its current form, according to Paul, which could force members to put forward a more conservative option.

While he said he’s told the second budget will contain bigger cuts, he isn’t confident it will be any better down the line.

“The reason why I’m doubtful of that is the budget we are going to vote on is essentially the one we did two years ago, and two years ago when they did it they had sort of a slight of hand to pretend that it balanced and even then it didn’t really balance,” Paul continued. “So I don’t know if there is a seriousness around here, but I know I didn’t spend the time to get elected and leave my medical practice to come up here to be for budgets that never balance.”

Once again, Paul directed attention the often untouched, and dangerously growing entitlement spending.

“If you eliminate, and I’m not advocating for this, all the military and all the nonmilitary, all the discretionary spending, you still don’t balance — so my point is you have to look at entitlements, and I’m not talking about eliminating anything, I’m just saying you have to freeze for a while,” he said, adding Adm. Mike Mullen said the debt was bad for the United States military.

Paul has been banging the drum recently for taking on entitlements. In an interview with FreedomWorks' Jason Pye, he stated that President-elect Trump has said he's not interested in taking on entitlements, and that failing to do so makes him believe a balanced budget isn't a real concern, stating "I just don’t think you’re a fiscal conservative, or you're serious about the significance of the $20 trillion debt.”