{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-highlights-millions-taxpayer-dollars-spent-promote-diplomacy-us-largest-foreign/", "Sen. Rand Paul Highlights Millions of Taxpayer Dollars Spent to Promote Diplomacy with U.S.\u2019 Largest Foreign Creditors", "2016-05-16", "2016", "2016-05", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Rand Paul", "P000603", "www.paul.senate.gov", "paul", "https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released the latest edition of \u2018The Waste Report,\u2019 which is an ongoing project cataloguing egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government. In the latest edition of \u2018The Waste Report,\u2019 Sen. Paul draws attention to the federal government spending millions of dollars every year to fund a center, known as the East-West Center, at the University of Hawaii to promote diplomacy with the Asian and Pacific island nations. These nations include China and Japan, our nation\u2019s two largest foreign creditors, from which our government has borrowed $3.4 trillions to cover our annual deficit.\n\n\u2018The Waste Report\u2019 can be found HERE or below.\n\nOver time \u2018The Waste Report\u2019 has told you various international follies aimed at building good will around the world. Who could forget such things as sending jazz bands to Turkey, Pakistani kids to Space Camp, or fostering better understanding with the UK. But did you know Uncle Sam spends millions of dollars supporting a center at the University of Hawaii[1] to promote better relations with Asian and Pacific island nations?\n\nThe East-West (E-W) Center, as it is known, was created by Congress in 1960 to \u201cbetter relations and understanding among the people and nations of the United States, Asia, and the Pacific.\u201d[2] Of course in 1960, Hawaii had just become a state, the U.S. was on the cusp of its third war in the Pacific since 1941, we weren\u2019t even talking to mainland China, no one had the internet, and international travel was rare. No one drove a Kia or wore Nikes, which have always been produced in Asia, and Ninja Warrior wasn\u2019t even a thing. In the last five decades it\u2019s safe to say things have changed a little.\n\nIn addition to trade and media, today, China and Japan are our two largest foreign creditors. While the U.S. is borrowing money from China, Japan, and other Asian nations (about $3.4 Trillion[3]), over 600 of those countries\u2019 citizens are attending the E-W Center the U.S. taxpayer is funding.[4] In fact, according to the one paragraph on finances from the E-W Center\u2019s FY 2014 annual report, which is the most recent and is little more than an 8-page pamphlet, the center received about $21 million in federal support, roughly 2/3rds of its entire budget.[5]\n\nSo what does fostering understanding on your dime look like? Well in addition to conferences and events, the E-W Center funds research fellowships and scholarships with, \u201cSubstantial funding toward education and living expenses, including tuition and fees, graduate residence hall room costs, health insurance, book allowance, and partial living stipend.\u201d[6] This year they are also putting on a 12-day U.S. Presidential Election Reporting Seminar with aim to, \u201cenable participating journalists to report before, during and after the U.S. presidential election from key states in the American electoral system.\u201d Of course they will have to put what they learn to use in 2020 as the seminar conflicts with the actual election this year.\n\nWhat is most amazing about the E-W Center is that in the FY 2010 budget, President Obama, whose mother was actually an E-W Center student while he was growing up[7], tried to cut the center\u2019s funding in half, \u201carguing that this would encourage the center to seek other sources for money.\u201d Instead, the then Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Dan Inouye from Hawaii increased funding to his home-state project by $2 million.[8] Year-after-year, including this year, the President\u2019s budget unsuccessfully proposes the same thing, roughly cutting funding in half for the center. At least in this instance Congressional pork is mightier than even the President. Reminds us of Ronald Reagan\u2019s famous quote, \u201cThe nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a government program.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T20:51:40Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-highlights-millions-taxpayer-dollars-spent-promote-diplomacy-us-largest-foreign/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0284699965268373, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}