By Staff, Wire Reports
WASHINGTON – In his first major legislative proposal, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul has proposed cutting government spending by $500 billion in a year, including eliminating the Departments of Energy and Housing and Urban Development and most of the Department of Education.
The Kentucky Republican briefly touched on his plan in a video response to President Obama's State of the Union speech.
"It is only the first step, yet it is far beyond anything the Democrats seem ready to embrace. It's time to get serious. Let us hope that the debt crisis will be managed before we destroy this great country, before we destroy our currency, before we destroy the American dream we hope to pass on to our kids and our grandkids."
Paul's proposal was unveiled late Tuesday afternoon. It would cut almost 40 percent of the country's projected deficit by abolishing programs that he says are outside the government's constitutional scope. The Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Park Service and the federal court system would experience the deepest cuts.
CLICK HERE to view the proposal (PDF).