(CNSNews.com) - "Fiscal conservatives, those who remain, should be in mourning," Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said in a speech on the Senate floor on Wednesday.
He railed against the two-year budget and debt ceiling deal, already passed by the House, and which the Senate will take up today.
Some Republican senators who plan to vote for the bill say they're doing it to avoid a government shutdown.
Paul on Wednesday accused them of deserting America and showing "no sympathy for the burden of debt they are leaving the taxpayers," especially the nest generation.
Here is part of Paul's "funeral march" for "the death of a movement."
Can you hear it? Can you hear the somber notes, the feet shuffling, the solemn tones? Can you hear it? It's a dirge a funeral march, the death of a movement.
A once-proud movement with hundreds of thousands of people gathered on the National Mall. It's the death, it's the last-gasp of a movement in America that was concerned with our national debt. Today is the final nail in the coffin. The Tea Party is no more.
The budget deal today allows unlimited borrowing for nearly two years, unlimited. No limits. The government will borrow what they wish without limit for two years. It abolishes all spending caps. Adoption of this deal marks the death of the Tea party movement in America.
Fiscal conservatives, those who remain, should be in mourning. For Congress, both parties, has deserted you. The national debt now stand at $22 trillion. This year, we will add over $1.2 trillion. We're approaching record deficits, and neither party cares.
Both parties have deserted, have absolutely and utterly deserted America, and show no care and no understanding and no sympathy for the burden of debt they are leaving the taxpayers, the young, the next generation, and the future of our country. The very underpinnings of our country are being eroded and threatened by this debt. The interest on this debt will be over $400 billion next year -- precisely $455 billion.
Interest will surpass all welfare spending in the next two years. Interest on the debt will surpass defense spending by 2025. Social Security is $7 trillion in debt. Medicare is over $30 trillion in debt. And yet, a parade of candidates on national television last night says they want to double and triple the government's expenditures where the government is already trillions of dollars short.
Whose fault is this? Both parties.
Paul said the problem isn't too little compromise in Washington: "There's too much compromise," he said. "There's always an agreement to spend more money."
Paul also suggested it's time to discuss military spending:
Republicans says the military is hollowed out and can't complete its mission, he noted: "Well perhaps the mission's too big for the budget. Maybe it's not a problem of not having enough money," he said. "Maybe it's a problem of making our mission to be everything to everyone around the world -- to spend $50 billion a year building roads and bridges in Afghanistan for the last 20 years and to continue that forever."
Paul said the U.S. doesn't need to send troops to 55 African countries or intervene in every civil war around the world.
"Maybe we need to discuss the mission of our military. We are piling more debt on, some in the nation of national security, and yet I think it weakens us with every moment."
Paul said fiscal conservatives "all thought debt was bad when it was President Obama's debt," but "they are not interested in the debt now that Republicans are complicit."
At least Democrats are honest, he said -- "They don't care about the debt." He noted that the 20 Democrat presidential candidates want to give free health care to illegal aliens and Medicare for all, "when we can't even afford Medicare for some."
Yet the Republicans -- the only opposition party -- "they don't care either," Paul said. They just want to put off a vote on raising the debt ceiling until after the election.
"People talk about draining the swamp," Paul said. "You can't drain the swamp unless you are willing to cut the size and scope of government."
Paul said both parties are "terrible on the deficit," and "both parties are ruining our country."
Paul has offered an amendment called "Cut, Cap and Balance," which would cut spending, resume spending caps, and introduce a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.
Thebudget and debt ceiling bill Sen. Paul so strenuously opposes increases the FY 2020 and FY 2021 discretionary spending limits for both defense and nondefense spending. It allows a total of $1.37 trillion in federal agency spending over two years. That's a $320-billion spending increase over two years, only $77 billion of which will be offset by spending reductions.
The bill also suspends the public debt limit through July 31, 2021. On August 1, 2021, the debt limit will be increased to accommodate obligations issued during the suspension period.