Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul promised to filibuster a deal reached by the White House and House Republicans that would keep the government financed through next September while raising the debt ceiling.
The Republican presidential candidate told reporters in Denver Tuesday that he will “do everything in [his] power” to stop the Senate’s passage of what he described as a “steaming pile of legislation.”
“I will filibuster and I will urge my colleagues to join my effort,” he added.
The bill reached by Republican leaders and President Obama Monday evening would increase existing caps on federal spending by $50 billion in fiscal 2016 and by $30 billion the following year in addition to boosting military spending by $16 billion in both years.
“Most of the $80 billion in higher discretionary spending for the next two years is covered by a grab bag of revenue increases and spending cuts that don’t materialize for several more years,” the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, hours before Paul arrived in Denver.
For weeks on the campaign trail, Paul has blasted both Republicans and Democrats who favor raising the debt ceiling in fiscal 2016 without “significant reforms.”
In mid-October, Paul reintroduced the Cut, Cap and Balance Act that would cap federal spending at 18 percent of the gross domestic product and initiate $207 billion in budget cuts, not including Medicare, veterans’ benefits or Social Security.
“Bold action is needed to address our nation’s debt crisis – our national debt currently stands at $18.4 trillion. We cannot keep piling debt on top of debt forever,” Paul said at the time.
Paul, who jumped to sixth place in the latest Washington Examiner presidential power rankings, rose to fame in libertarian circles after filibustering U.S. drone policies under the Obama administration for 13 hours in 2013. In May, he spoke out against the National Security Agency’s controversial domestic spying program for 10.5 hours on the Senate floor.
