Tom Leppert

We're in a fiscal crisis, and President Obama has failed to offer any leadership to get us back on the path to fiscal austerity. In fact, a new report from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office shows Obama's budget is even worse than previously claimed. Under Obama's recent budget proposal, we would face another 10 years of deficits and add $9.5 trillion to our debt.

Fortunately, we have a few leaders willing to tackle these problems and offer their own plans. I was pleased today to hear that Sen. Rand Paul is proposing a plan to balance our budget within five years. This is the kind of bold leadership we need to get our country turned around.

Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., unveiled today his five-year path to a balanced budget, leaving several federal agencies behind. Among the items on the cutting room floor are the Departments of Education, Energy, Commerce and Housing and Urban Development.

"There's a lot of things in here that everybody could agree to, Republicans and Democrats, but nobody's leading on the president's side and on our side we felt we needed to put this forward to get the debate started, at the very least," the freshman Senator explained at a Capitol Hill press conference this afternoon.

The proposal also calls for the repeal of "Obamacare," but leaves entitlements untouched.

"There's an argument for every federal program up here... Nobody's coming up here asking me for money that's not for a good reason. But the alternative is that we get into a point of financial disaster where nobody gets any money," he said.

According to Paul, a Tea Party conservative, the proposal will bring spending to the "historic average since World War II" in just one year. He further claims the budget achieves a $19 billion surplus by FY2016 and will bring all non-military discretionary spending back to FY2008 levels.

Washington has created a quagmire. Politicians have buried us in debt that is reaching an insurmountable level. We need to act now to preserve the American Dream and get our country back on a path to fiscal reality.

William Beach and Dustin Siggins of the Heritage Foundation write today on the magnitude of fiscal adjustments we must make. While Democrats are outraged over even the paltry $61 billion that Congressional Republicans are trying to cut from this year's budget, Beach and Siggins say we need average cuts of $395.3 billion per year in order to achieve a 12 percent adjustment in structural deficits by 2015—the year our national debt is equal to our entire GDP.

Of the several studies released by the IMF, the most important was a May 15 report warning the United States that it would have a debt-to-GDP ratio of 100 percent by 2015. An April 30 report also found that of all the debt reductions industrialized nations need to make, the United States requires the second-largest adjustment. This adjustment amounts to full 12 percent of our structural deficits—not quite as bad as Japan at 13 percent, but considerably worse than woeful Greece at 9 percent. Yet Congress will probably not be able to enact these necessary changes.

In order to achieve that 12 percent reduction during the five fiscal years between now and 2015, the average budget cut would have to be equal to equal $395.3 billion per year. Given that the president's bipartisan debt commission's recommendations could not even get to Congress for a vote, and that the new budget from House Republicans cuts only $61 billion from 2010 spending levels, how can the American people expect real structural change in the federal budget? Members of the Debt Paying Generation certainly cannot, and rightfully should ask if they will be left holding the bag.

The only way we'll be able to get our finances in line will be to make some tough choices. A good first step is a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution to stop Washington from spending more than it takes in. This would keep President Obama in check as he continues to push for more spending. CLICK HERE to sign my petition urging Congress to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment.

But a Balanced Budget Amendment is only the beginning if we're going to dig this country out of debt. It's essential that we reform our entitlement programs, which account for 41 percent of the President's budget this year. We cannot consider tax increases, which would only lead to higher debt by slowing economic growth, but everything else needs to be on the table.

Voters understand the time to act is now. A new poll out this morning from The Hill finds 95 percent of likely voters believe lowering our debt is crucial for our future.

Likely voters overwhelmingly believe deficit reduction is crucial to America's future, but generally oppose raising revenue through tax reform to cut those deficits, a new poll conducted for The Hill found.

A full 95 percent of likely voters believe that lowering the debt is either very or somewhat important, the poll found, with only 2 percent finding the issue not at all or not very important.

Texans need to speak out and let Washington know we're tired of politicians who put off the tough decisions. We want action. Be sure to sign my petition for a Balanced Budget Amendment today, and throughout this campaign, I will continue calling on Washington to start making the tough choices now.