Rand Paul: Fiscal commission report doesn't go far enough

The draft report issued by President Obama's fiscal commission does not do enough to bring down the nation's debt and deficits, Sen.-elect Rand Paul said Friday.

Paul (R-Ky.) wants the changes proposed by the bipartisan commission to take effect sooner, rather than over the course of several decades.

"The debt commission has some good ideas … but they are stretching it out over 30, 40, 50 years. I really think it’s going to be too little, too late," he told Fox News in an interview to air Friday afternoon. "I tend to not think that proposals are too serious if they are over such a long period of time and they end up getting changed over that time."

Paul's comments stand in contrast to criticism of the report on the right, which has mainly criticized the proposed tax increases.

The Tea Party-backed Paul often ran as an iconoclast on the campaign trail, touting his libertarian sensibilities about fiscal issues. He strongly opposes tax increases and recommended steep spending cuts to reduce the size of government. 

Aside from the timeline, Paul did not specify how the report should be improved. Paul appeared to ease his opposition to earmark spending this week, though he did not go as far as to say that he fully supports the spending items.

Former Clinton Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles and former Sen. Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.) proposed a $200 billion in cuts to domestic and defense spending as well as tax hikes as the basis of their plan to reduce the deficit to below 40 percent of GDP by 2035. 

Other recommendations, like gradually raising the retirement age, would take full effect over the course of decades: The age would be raised to 69 by 2075. 

The report was the "chairmen's mark," meaning the contents have not been approved by the bipartisan 18-member panel. It is set to finalize a plan by early December.

Paul suggested that the commissioners ought to be bolder in developing a solution.

"The report only came out a day or two ago. I guess I am just a little more bold than those in Washington," he said. "Those in Washington think a 30-year plan to balance the budget is bold, and I think that’s still anemic."

---