Rand Paul: Paul Ryan's Plan Takes Too Long to Balance Budget

This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," April 8, 2011. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

SEAN HANNITY, HOST: Let me bring in Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. He joins us live tonight from Capitol Hill.

Senator, welcome back, good to see you.

SEN. RAND PAUL, R-KY.: Good to be with you, Sean.

HANNITY: All right, well -- first of all, what did you think of John Boehner's comments? There had been some talk that maybe Republicans would negotiate. They would give in at $40 billion versus the $61 billion.

My position is, I think they have no reason to give in at all considering $61 billion for the Democrats' 2011 budget is frankly, you know, like spinning in the ocean.

PAUL: Well, I'm kind of proud of John Boehner for standing up and saying, you know what? The last election was about cutting spending. The American people are ready for it. Our country needs it. We desperately need to something about the deficit, 1.5, 1.6 trillion.

The $61 billion is just a mere minimum. We really need to cut spending up here. I think John Boehner is hearing that from his members, but I think also the American people are ready for it.

HANNITY: Would you be unhappy, would you ultimately even go along with, a bill that cut less than the $61 billion that they promised prior to the election?

PAUL: I can't do it because, you know, I told people that I believed in balancing the budget. Any plan I vote for has to make the deficit dramatically lower. So if last year's deficit was $1.5 trillion or $1.6 trillion, unless we are reducing that by 10 or 20 percent and have a plan to balance the budget over a several year period, I can't vote for any of that. So really, I need a balanced budget amendment, I need a five-year plan to balance the budget. I need something significant to convince me that it is worth voting.

HANNITY: OK, well, and Paul Ryan's budget in fairness -- I think this is important to highlight here. This budget should have been passed prior to the beginning of this budget year, which was October 1.

Democrats had both Houses of Congress, significant majorities there at the White House. They failed to do it. Here we are six months later and we still don't have a budget for this fiscal year that we're currently in.

So this -- you know, they really caused this problem. Do you think they get away with the argument that Republicans are somehow responsible for this?

PAUL: You're absolutely right. The interesting thing is in the old days, about four, five years ago, we used to have an appropriations bill for every bit of spending. There would be 12 appropriations bills. They would go through committee, come out, there would also be a budget that was passed.

We didn't do any of that. The Democrats didn't pass any appropriations bills, didn't pass any budget and then we are living in an economy, the world's greatest economy and the world's largest government is budgeting from week to week. It makes absolutely no sense at all.

HANNITY: All right, in the spirit of this new era of civility that Barack Obama had called for, on numerous occasions, most recently after the tragedy in Tucson, let's listen to how some of the arguments went. We'll start with Louise Slaughter in the House of Representatives. This is what she had to say earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. LOUISE SLAUGHTER, D-N.Y.: This is probably one of the worst times that we've seen because it is numbers of people who are elected to Congress. I went through this as co-chair of the arts caucus in '94 people were elected to kill the national endowment for the arts. Now they are here to kill women.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: $61 billion cut of a $3.6 trillion budget with $1.65 trillion in deficit and Republicans are doing that because they want to kill women. Your reaction?

PAUL: Well, the thing is they are trying to make it about something very emotional that is untrue. The interesting thing about health programs for poor and for poor women is, they are all included under Medicaid.

How would Planned Parenthood have anything to do with health care if Medicaid is out there for poor women across the country? So really it is a red herring. They want to make it about emotional issues instead of making it about an issue that they know they are losing the public on.

Democrats are losing the public because they are not serious about balancing the budget. Their proposal was $6 billion for one year that's what we borrow in one day.

I don't think they are getting it, but they understand they are losing the battle on spending because the American people want to cut spending. So they want to make it about emotional issues that divide us rather than fiscal responsibility, which I think unifies most of the American public.

HANNITY: They seemed to be basically the playbook that they used in 1995. Some of the comments today that Republicans are radical and extreme as Chuck Schumer advised everybody to say they want throw women and children under the bus. They don't want 6 million seniors to have dinner. They don't want cancer screening or mammograms. Let's take a look for example what Harry Reid had to say earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HARRY REID, D-NV., MAJORITY LEADER: I've been married for a long time, more than 50 years. We have one daughter, nine grandchildren. I love these women very, very much. One day, I may not be able to help them. One of them may need a cancer screening, it is not a pleasant thought, but that's the reality of life.

The Republicans want to shutdown our nation's government because they want to make it harder for women to get the health services they need.

The Republicans are asking me to sacrifice my wife's health, my daughter's health and my nine granddaughters' health.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: Republicans want to shutdown the government because they want to make it harder for women to get health services they need. Republicans are asking me to sacrifice my wife's health, my daughters' health and my nine granddaughter's health. So Republicans want women to die and old people to eat cat food, pretty much what they are saying.

PAUL: Well, he's trying to make this into something emotional. It's interesting that the only people you hear on television saying they are ready the government is going to be shutdown is the Democrats. They are all saying the government is going to be shutdown but they almost appear as if they want it to shutdown so they can blame Republicans, blame the Tea Party. When you hear them in their private meetings they say make sure you use the word extreme. Make sure you use the word Tea Party. You know, it's all to them somewhat of a cheap parlor trick.

I think really the American people are seeing through that. I mean, I'm really worried about the future of our country and they're playing games saying their daughter and his wife won't get health care?

What is that about? He's on the congressional health care plan. Should we call him and let him know that his wife and kids are on the plan and he does have health insurance? What is he talking about?

HANNITY: It might be a good idea. What is going to happen two hours and 53 minutes from right now, Senator? Do you think there's going to be a temporary deal?

You are unlikely in -- you are unlikely to support any deal based on what are saying because they are not talking about the significant cuts which you prefer. What do you think happens in two hours and 52 minutes?

PAUL: Yes, I'm having a little trouble hearing you. I think the just of the last thing is about, you know, what are the alternatives that we have?

And the alternatives are that we believe we ought to balance the budget and have a plan. We have a five-year plan to balance the budget. We think there should be an amendment to the Constitution.

I personally think that both sides up here have proven themselves untrustworthy and really we won't ever balance it or have much fiscal responsibility unless we force them to do by changing the constitution.

HANNITY: Would you support Paul Ryan's budget if it passed the House and went to the Senate?

PAUL: Well, I like some of the things in it. I like the entitlement reform. What bothers me is it takes 26 years to balance. Now there are people, the Republican Study Committee in the House has come up with one that balances in seven years or eight years.

It is almost the same as my five-year balanced budget plan. So I'm more excited about the Republican Study Committees because it actually balances. I think the Ryan Plan takes too long to balance.

HANNITY: All right, Senator Rand Paul, thank you for being with us. Appreciate it.

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