Profile in Courage: Senator Rand Paul

It’s no secret that Americans are dissatisfied with their congressional representation. These days, approval ratings for both chambers of Congress hover around 20 percent, and it’s seen as a resounding triumph if that number goes higher than 25 percent. Americans are tired of unimaginative politicians serving as rubber stamps for tax-and-spend agenda items. Fortunately, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has been a light amidst the dark cynicism of Capitol Hill.

While Congress has delivered the country annual deficits that are now routinely well above a trillion dollars, Sen. Paul introduced the “Six Penny Plan.” The Six Penny Plan is very straightforward. This budget would mandate that Congress cut spending by six percent from the previous year’s levels for five years. After five years, the federal budget would be balanced. While many politicians handwave away spending levels or rising inflation, Sen. Paul is taking concrete action to address it in an aggressive, yet practical way.

This was not a one-off effort from Sen. Paul either. He has been introducing similar legislation for the last five years. And, consistently, it has been the only proposal put forth that would actually result in a balanced budget. Because of his colleagues’ refusal to heed his warnings, more and more spending cuts have been necessitated to get America’s fiscal house in order. Sen. Paul seems to be one of the only ones clear-eyed about the threat our national debt poses to the nation. Had his colleagues listened to his early warnings and proposals, it would have only been the Single Penny Plan and the budget would have been long balanced by now.

At a time when members of Congress on both sides of the political aisle are embracing antitrust as a means to punish their political opponents, Sen. Paul stood on the floor of the Senate to call out this madness. Putting it bluntly, “In short, antitrust seeks to cap the amount of success any business can enjoy and the benefits reaped by customers,” he said. Summing up his antitrust philosophy further, he said, “We [don’t] need government to intervene to ensure competition and innovation. All we [need] to do [is] to let the market work.”

This was yet another one of Sen. Paul’s refreshing espousals of free market values amidst a growing bipartisan consensus that almost always involves more government meddling in the affairs of private companies. Sen. Paul – also a doctor himself – stood tall against government rate-setting of prescription medication. When most of Washington thought it’d be easier to force prices lower by fiat, Sen. Paul recognized the devastation that would cause in terms of access to care. Again, it was not an easy stand, but a necessary one.

Most elected politicians shrink in the face of hard spending cuts in particularly sensitive areas – namely, the military. However, Sen. Paul has been one of the leading advocates of Pentagon spending reform. He points out that it is not fiscally responsible to sink trillions into the Defense Department’s coffers, especially when they have demonstrated recklessness with the money they already do have and when the nation’s spending is already out of control.

Stands like these – among so many others – are enough to make powerful enemies in Washington, DC. Yet, Sen. Paul makes them year after year, without much thought to the political consequences from more powerful lawmakers. He recognizes he answers to the American people, who will be saddled with the debt and the drawbacks of foolish legislative pursuits. It is for these reasons that Sen. Rand Paul is a profile in courage for taxpayers across the nation.