Washington, D.C. –U.S. Senators Mike Enzi, John Barrasso both R-Wyo., Rand Paul, R-Ky., Jim Risch, R-Idaho, David Vitter, R-La., Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., introduced a bill this week that has the potential to quickly halt the nation’s debt spiral and do it with a minimal amount of pain.

The senators said in just two years they could end the nation’s long tradition of spending more than we have by using their “Penny Plan” or the One Percent Spending Reduction Act of 2013. The Penny Plan is simple. It would cut 1 percent from total federal spending for two years. That would balance the budget. The plan doesn’t mandate any specific cuts. Instead of arbitrary cuts across the board, Congress could make targeted cuts and focus on the worst first, but would be required to meet the 1 percent overall cut.

Everyone should be able to live with 1 percent less in order to help bring this country back from the brink of catastrophic fiscal failure, the senators said.

Once a balanced budget is achieved, the bill would place a cap on total spending each year. The new level of spending would be roughly 19 percent of America’s total economic output. Over a 10-year budget window, the bill would cut spending by about $5.8 trillion from currently projected levels.

Click here to view the text of the bill. Representative Austin Scott, R-Ga., has introduced similar legislation in the U.S. House.