FRANKFORT — Republican U.S. Senate nominee Rand Paul vowed Monday to introduce his own balanced budget for the nation if he is elected.

"If filibuster be necessary to make them pay attention to the debate over a balanced budget, I think a good week's time would be well spent to have the whole country talk about what's going to happen to us if we become (financially troubled) Greece," Paul said.

Paul, appearing on Rush Limbaugh's radio show with guest host Walter Williams, stressed his call for a federal balanced budget by law. But he said the budget should be balanced only through cutting spending and not raising taxes.

If Congress does not rein in spending, he said, programs like Social Security and Medicare could be in danger. Paul noted that Kentucky requires a balanced budget.

Kentucky "is suffering through a recession like every other state but we are nothing like California because we are forced to balance our budget," Paul said.

"We don't spend money we don't have."

Paul said during Monday's nearly 20-minute national radio show that the Tea Party movement shows the United States cannot keep borrowing and adding to its debt.

There was no mention of Paul's civil rights comments.

Paul, a Bowling Green eye surgeon who is making his first bid for public office, has begun making more public appearances after a few days out of the limelight following his controversial statement about civil rights a day after the May 18 primary election.

Paul received heavy publicity and much criticism after he said he abhors discrimination and racism but suggested that a private business should determine whom it serves.

Read more of this story at Kentucky.com