Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) made a motion to proceed to Senate Concurrent Resolution 22, a budget resolution he introduced. On the Senate floor, Paul pleaded, "This year, the United States will spend $6.7 trillion while bringing in about $4.7 trillion. That is $2 trillion more being spent than what is coming in…. Next year, it is going to be even worse. The budget that was passed in the spring said we would spend $6.3 trillion next year, but it turns out it is going to be $7.2 trillion next year." Of his resolution, Paul said, "My budget, … the Six Penny Plan budget, cuts 6 percent of all spending to rebalance in just 5 years."

The Senate rejected Paul's motion on September 16, 2025 by a vote of 36 to 62 (Roll Call 521). We have assigned pluses to the yeas not only because most government spending falls outside the scope of constitutionally authorized federal powers, but also because the federal government needs to start reining in ballooning federal spending and debt in order to avert future fiscal disaster. Although six percent may not seem like much, modest cuts are still better than none at all.