url,title,date,year,month,party,chamber,state,member_name,bioguide_id,domain,scraper,source,date_source,text,has_text,collected_at,updated_at
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-holds-town-hall-paducah-performing-free-eye-surgeries/,Sen. Rand Paul Holds Town Hall in Paducah Before Performing Free Eye Surgeries,2015-12-29,2015,2015-12,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"PADUCAH, KY – Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul held a Town Hall in Paducah, Kentucky at the Paducah Chamber of Commerce Center. Before heading to the Ambulatory Surgery Center in Paducah to perform pro bono eye surgeries, Sen. Paul spoke with Kentuckians in attendance and took questions from the audience. Questions ranged from local issues to immigration to national defense.

Following the Town Hall, Sen. Paul performed pro bono eye surgeries with Dr. Barbara Bowers. Sen. Paul regularly performs free eye surgeries for charity, and since being elected to the Senate in 2010, he has continued to use his skills to help those in need.

No related posts.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:33:33Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-mrs-rand-pauls-christmas-message/,Dr. & Mrs. Rand Paul’s Christmas Message,2015-12-24,2015,2015-12,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul and his wife, Kelley Paul, delivered the following message in celebration of Christmas and the holiday season. The video and transcript can be found below.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH DR. AND MRS. RAND PAUL’S CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

TRANSCRIPT

Merry Christmas! As families come together this time of year to give thanks and rejoice in the holiday season, Kelley and I would like to offer our very best wishes to the hard-working families in Kentucky, and across this great nation.

With the Christmas season upon us, let us pause for a moment and remember our brave men and women serving our country and protecting our freedom at home and abroad. We thank you and your families for all the sacrifices you make.

We would also like to extend our prayers and wishes to the families across the Commonwealth of Kentucky – from the horse farms to the coal mines, from the family-owned small businesses to the factories creating products shared worldwide. Your hard work makes the Bluegrass State proud.

May your holiday be filled with love and your New Year rich with God’s blessings.

From our families to yours, merry Christmas and happy holidays!

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:33:33Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-releases-special-festivus-airing-grievances-2015-edition-waste-report/,Sen. Rand Paul Releases Special ‘Festivus: Airing of Grievances for 2015’ Edition of ‘The Waste Report’,2015-12-23,2015,2015-12,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released a special ‘Festivus: Airing of Grievances for 2015’ edition of ‘The Waste Report,’ which is an ongoing project cataloguing egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government.

The ‘Festivus: Airing of Grievances for 2015’ edition highlights over 30 examples of wasteful spending, misplaced priorities, and bad management in the federal government that have cost the taxpayer more than one billion dollars. Of the 31 examples amassed from the past year, a few high-points of the ‘The Waste Report’ include: an $850,000 foreign made-for-TV cricket league in Afghanistan, a $150,000 federal government agency yoga classes, a $450,000 climate change video game, a $250,000 trip for Pakistani children to attend Space Camp and Dollywood in the U.S., and a $104 million subsidization for millionaires to live in public housing.

The special ‘Festivus: Airing of Grievances’ of ‘The Waste Report’ can be found HERE.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:33:33Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-announces-hhs-investigation-planned-parenthood-tissue-practices/,Sen. Rand Paul Announces HHS Investigation of Planned Parenthood Tissue Practices,2015-12-22,2015,2015-12,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following the request initiated by U.S. Senator Rand Paul, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General (OIG) Daniel R. Levinson has opened an investigation, including a full audit into the compliance of HHS grantees with the fetal tissue regulations to determine whether there have been violations of the law and how the agency verifies compliance.

Originally stemming from videos showcasing Planned Parenthood’s potential violations of federal law, Sen. Paul sent a letter, signed by 34 of his colleagues, on October 6, 2015, to HHS OIG Levinson calling for an audit to specifically examine the Department’s oversight of contractor and grantee compliance with laws governing fetal tissue research. The full text of Sen. Paul’s letter can be found HERE.

Sen. Paul, in response to HHS OIG Levinson’s investigation, released the following statement:

“I am encouraged to see the Inspector General take action to investigate Planned Parenthood’s unconscionable practices. Planned Parenthood selling body parts of the unborn demonstrates that the organization deserves not one penny more of our taxpayer dollars, and I am confident this investigation will give further proof of that,” Sen. Paul said.

In July 2015, Sen. Paul joined 49 of his Senate colleagues in sending a bipartisan letter to HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell immediately following the release of footage from the Center for Medical Progress depicting Planned Parenthood executives discussing – in graphic detail – the organization’s involvement in the harvesting and sale of the organs of aborted babies. In the letter, the Senators asked HHS to conduct an internal review of the compliance of both HHS and their grantee, Planned Parenthood, with all applicable federal laws, including those prohibiting the sale of fetal tissue for profit. The response received from Sec. Burwell in August was unacceptable and makes clear that a thorough internal investigation of compliance was not conducted.

Click HERE to read HHS OIG Levinson’s response to Sen. Paul.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:33:33Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-sends-bipartisan-bicameral-letter-president-obama-requesting-expedited/,"Dr. Rand Paul Sends Bipartisan, Bicameral Letter to President Obama Requesting Expedited Presidential Investigation for AK Steel",2015-12-21,2015,2015-12,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Friday, U.S. Senator Rand Paul, along with Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Joe Manchin (D-WV), and Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY), sent a bipartisan, bicameral letter to President Obama requesting an expedited presidential investigation into the accusations of steel dumping.

Sen. Paul has been engaged on this issue since he was first notified of the situation. In the past month, Sen. Paul has met with community and regional leadership in Kentucky regarding layoffs at the AK Steel plant, sent a letter to the International Trade Administration (ITA) requesting them to expedite their decision making process and make a determination before layoffs occur in December, and met with Ashland Mayor Chuck Charles and other city representatives, as well as President and CEO of the Ashland Alliance Tim Gibbs last week.

A copy of the letter can be found below.

LETTER TEXT:

President Barack Obama

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We write to bring to your attention troubling developments in the domestic steel industry and ask you to expeditiously review the situation before any permanent job losses occur.

On October 16, 2015, AK Steel announced the company would temporarily layoff employees at its Ashland Kentucky facility later this month. AK Steel stated that one of the reasons for the temporarily layoff was the, “onslaught of unfairly traded imports.” Ashland has 21,335 residents and the plant is expected to temporarily layoff over 700 people. If the plant were to temporarily shut down, not only would there be hundreds of people unemployed but surrounding businesses would also be significantly impacted.

Similar letters have been sent by other steel companies in other states warning of pending steel plant closures. City leaders in Fairfield, Alabama received notification from the US Steel Corporation that said it was closing its blast furnace and laying-off approximately 1,100 employees. US Steel issued a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice to 2,000 employees at its Granite City, Illinois facility in October 2015.

AK Steel, U.S. Steel, and four other domestic steel producers have accused China, India, Italy, South Korea and Taiwan of purposefully undervaluing their Corrosion-Resistant Steel (CORE) imports in order to increase market share in the US. AK Steel and plaintiffs have filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Administration (FTA) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) but a final decision isn’t expected to occur until after the temporary layoffs have occurred at the Ashland Works facility. A preliminary ruling by TPA stated that five countries are subsidizing steel imports and selling steel products in the US at under the market rate. TPA’s ruling allows for some countervailing duties to be assessed but a final ruling isn’t scheduled until March 3, 2016. Temporary layoffs are expected to begin at the Ashland steel facility between December 18th and December 30th.

We ask that you review these cases expeditiously. Should your review disclose unfair practices that are harming the marketplace, the Trade Act of 1974 gives you tools to address the situation.

This letter isn’t about any one steel company, but about ensuring the market is clear of actors, foreign or domestic, improperly threatening the livelihood of US citizens working hard to provide for their families and achieve the American Dream. We request that you use the tools at your disposal to inquire into this matter and have the ITC investigate the accusation in an expeditious manner.

Sincerely,

Sen. Rand Paul, M.D

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:33:33Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-reintroduces-separation-powers-restoration-and-second-amendment-protection-act/,Sen. Rand Paul Reintroduces Separation of Powers Restoration and Second Amendment Protection Act,2015-12-21,2015,2015-12,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul last week introduced the Separation of Powers Restoration and Second Amendment Protection Act, which would void and prohibit funding for any of President Obama’s executive orders on gun control that undermines the powers reserved for Congress under the Constitution.

“In the United States, we do not have a king, but we do have a Constitution. We also have the Second Amendment, and I will fight tooth and nail to protect it,” Sen. Paul said.

Click HERE to read the Separation of Powers Restoration and Second Amendment Protection Act in its entirety.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:33:33Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-releases-special-christmas-edition-waste-report/,Sen. Rand Paul Releases Special Christmas Edition of ‘The Waste Report’,2015-12-21,2015,2015-12,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released a special Christmas edition of ‘The Waste Report,’ which is an ongoing project cataloguing egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government. The special Christmas edition of ‘The Waste Report’ calls attention to the federal government spending tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars to boost the sales of Christmas trees through TV commercials during Thanksgiving weekend. With retail sales of over 30 million live trees in the U.S. every year, the market for Christmas trees is hardly in a rut and not in need of government assistance.

‘The Waste Report’ can be found HERE or below.

On Friday morning, all across the world children and parents will gather around the Christmas tree to see what Santa left. Maybe you finally got the kids got the National Science Foundation’s climate change video game they’ve been begging for. Just kidding, we know no one actually asked for that. Even though they already paid for it.

But at the center of all those gifts is a stunted evergreen decorated with blinking lights and memories of Christmas past. Perhaps you and the family went out to cut down your tree this year, and maybe it was a TV commercial on Thanksgiving Day that inspired this joyous family experience. But, even if your tree is fake, your tax dollars paid for that commercial.

So, why is Uncle Sam making TV commercials for Christmas trees? Well, as The Waste Report showed in our Thanksgiving edition, virtually all crops (including Christmas trees) are a “specialty” product according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This makes them eligible for special marketing assistance grants. Combine overly broad eligibility criteria, intergovernmental bureaucracy, and agencies flush with your tax dollars, and BOOM, Christmas tree commercials.

In this case, the Georgia Christmas Tree Association got $50k in federal funds, “to boost the sales of Georgia Grown Christmas trees by implementing a 30 second cable TV ad that would run for four days over the 2012, 2013, and 2014 Thanksgiving weekends.” [1]

One might think Georgia must have a fledgling Christmas tree industry to need Uncle Sam’s help. While Georgia is not a Christmas tree juggernaut like Oregon or North Carolina, with over 50,000 trees, they are hardly a slouch either. In fact, Georgia produces more trees than 28 other states, including Idaho and Montana.[2]

True, a Christmas tree might not be an everyday purchase, but with about 30 million real trees sold every year [3] this is hardly a niche industry either, making its classification as a “specialty” all the more absurd.

By the way, come Valentine’s Day, if you see an ad reminding you to get roses for your sweetheart…yep, that too could have been funded by Uncle Sam as specialty crop marketing.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:33:33Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-announces-senate-audit-fed-vote/,Sen. Rand Paul Announces Senate “Audit the Fed” Vote,2015-12-18,2015,2015-12,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) today announced plans for the Senate to vote in relation to the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2015, widely known as “Audit the Fed,” on January 12, 2016. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) filed cloture on the motion to proceed to “Audit the Fed” today, setting up the cloture vote when the Senate returns in January.

The legislation, S.2232, would eliminate restrictions on the U.S. Government Accountability Office audits of the Federal Reserve and mandate that the Federal Reserve’s credit facilities, securities purchases, and quantitative easing activities be subject to congressional oversight.

Sen. Paul originally introduced the legislation for the 114th Congress in January 2015. In November 2015, Sen. Paul invoked Rule XIV, which allowed “Audit the Fed” to be placed directly on the Senate Legislative Calendar so that the legislation can be called up for immediate consideration.

“My legislation to conduct a complete and thorough audit of the Federal Reserve will be voted on in the Senate on January 12, 2016. The Fed operating under a cloak of secrecy has gone on for far too long. The American people have a right to know exactly how Washington is spending their money. The time to act is now,” Sen. Paul said.

Cosponsors of the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2015 include: U.S. Senators Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), John Barrasso (R-WY), Roy Blunt (R-MO), John Boozman (R-AR), Shelley Capito (R-WV), John Cornyn (R-TX), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Steve Daines (R-MT), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Dean Heller (R-NV), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Mike Lee (R-UT), Rob Portman (R-OH), James Risch (R-ID), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Tim Scott (R-SC), Pat Toomey (R-PA), and David Vitter (R-LA).

Click HERE to read the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2015 in its entirety.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:33:33Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-opposes-omnibus-spending-bill/,Sen. Rand Paul Opposes Omnibus Spending Bill,2015-12-18,2015,2015-12,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul issued the following statement today opposing the FY2016 “omnibus” spending bill:

“Since coming to Washington, I have voted against every spending bill that continues to add to our nation’s mountain of debt, and this bill is no different. By adding $700 million of new debt this year, this bill will continue to fund President Obama’s priorities such as Obamacare, Planned Parenthood, and sanctuary cities. The 2,242-page bill will do nothing to stop the flow of refugees from terrorist countries and expand big government’s intrusion into every American’s internet activity. I cannot and will not support any legislation that adds debt on top of debt and enables President Obama’s lawlessness. Ultimately, this reckless spending will only be hurting the hard-working families in Kentucky and across the nation, and the American people deserve better,” Sen. Paul said.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:33:33Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-highlights-us-forest-service-building-smokey-bear-laundromat-costing-taxpayers/,"Sen. Rand Paul Highlights U.S. Forest Service Building the Smokey Bear Laundromat Costing Taxpayers $25,000",2015-12-14,2015,2015-12,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released the latest edition to ‘The Waste Report,’ which is an ongoing project cataloguing egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government. The latest edition highlights the U.S. Forest Service spending nearly $25,000 taxpayer dollars to build the Smokey Bear Laundromat at the Lincoln National Forest in Ruidoso, N.M. – all while the closest laundromat can be found 0.2 miles away.

‘The Waste Report’ can be found HERE or below.

Maybe you have anguished over a coffee stain on your pants or prayed an errant blotch of marinara sauce would come out of a white shirt. Well, it seems the U.S. Forest Service is concerned about laundry too, which is why earlier this year they spent almost $25,000 to build the Smokey Bear Laundromat at the Lincoln National Forest in Ruidoso, New Mexico.[1]

The project solicitation calls for converting a single-car garage at the Smokey Bear Ranger House into a six-machine laundromat. However, this expense is just for the facility, the washers and dryers were not included in the $25,000 price.

Some readers may be envisioning a remote outpost[2] far from civilization. However, the Lincoln National Forest abuts the town of Ruidoso, and the Ranger House itself is right off of a highway, across from a golf resort and next to commercial shopping on both sides.[3] It is basically just another business, with a giant back yard, off a city street. Even the solicitation for the project notes that lodging and meals can be found within two miles of the worksite.[4]

More surprising is the proposed location for the government laundromat would be just 0.2 miles from Becker’s Mountain Laundry and just 0.3 miles to Evergreen Cleaner, which offers laundry services.[5] But when the taxpayer is footing the bill, 0.2 miles seems a lot longer.

Ruidoso, by the way, is hardly a small, remote hamlet. In fact, Ruidoso is something of a tourist destination with a Micropolitan Statistical Area population of 21,223 and over 7,500 housing units.[6] Forest Service personnel can easily live in the local community and hardly need a full complement of accommodations, such as laundry services, at the Smokey Bear Ranger House.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:33:33Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-time-op-ed-lets-destroy-isis-not-constitution/,TIME Op-Ed: Let’s Destroy ISIS — Not the Constitution,2015-12-09,2015,2015-12,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"In his Oval Office address Sunday night, President Obama continued his failure of leadership and his outrageous quest to turn a necessary discussion on terrorism and national security into an unnecessary and ineffective gun control debate.

Let’s be clear: disarming more law abiding citizens will not stop mass murderers and terrorists.

President Obama often refers to Australia as a gun control success story. The problem is that the statistics prove otherwise. Between 1996 – 1997, Australia gained control of over 600,000 civilian guns. The country’s murder and manslaughter rates remained the same, while its armed robbery rate actually increased by nearly 10 percent. In 2003, the Australian government took possession of 50,000 more firearms, but its crime statistics still hardly budged.

The truth is that the increasing use of guns in the United States has made our country safer. Though the number of firearms in the U.S. has increased by over 50 percent since 1993, our gun homicide rate has decreased by nearly 50 percent.

The worst thing we could do for our national security is further trample on our civilians’ Second Amendment rights. Instead, we should be doing the opposite — advocating for more concealed carry ability for law-abiding Americans and an end to unconstitutional gun free zones.

Second, we must fully examine and reform our border security, including refugee and visa programs. While the President paid lip service to this fight, he plans to keep the failed current rules in place and allow tens of thousands of refugees to enter our country.

I couldn’t disagree more strongly. Today, the question is not whether the U.S. accepts refugees. It’s whether the U.S. takes refugees at this time under these conditions. We can and should accept refugees, but not until they can be properly screened.

According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, we currently do not have access to any type of database in Syria to track these refugees’ criminal records. As a result, over 90 percent of Syrian refugee applicants are approved, some of whom could possibly be allied with ISIS. At least one of the terrorists responsible for the Paris attack is surmised to have entered Europe as a refugee. In light of this, it should not surprise anyone that multiple Syrian refugees have reported seeing suspected ISIS fighters in their midst.

For our national security’s sake, immigration, visas and refugees from countries with active terror networks must be halted while we determine how to better secure our borders and our people.

Finally, we must stop doing the same foolish things overseas that the President advocated for throughout his remarks.

In his remarks, Obama promised the administration will continue to flounder without a comprehensive strategy to combat ISIS. Specifically, Obama vowed to continue the failed status quo of arming the allies of ISIS. ISIS’s power is reinforced by the staggering arsenal that the movement has taken from the fleeing Iraqi and Syrian army — including tanks, Humvees and major artillery — and Obama wants to send more arms to the allies of ISIS.

Obama has undertaken military action against ISIS for over a year and only wants to continue his failed policies that are the reason we fight against the very weapons U.S. taxpayers bought.

We must stop arming and training allies of ISIS and al Qaeda. We must arm our allies the Kurds and insist on Arab boots on the ground for our allies in the region.

Obama also said he wants cooperation with Russia without indicating how he hopes to achieve this. As long as Obama is unwavering in calling for Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s removal from power, there’s realistically very little cooperation to be had with the Russians.

We need a comprehensive strategy to combat ISIS, not only in Syria but around the world. The Obama administration’s fixation on the Syrian civil war as the cause and solution to ISIS is actually detrimental to destroying ISIS. ISIS is a threat that has gone well beyond Syria’s borders, into places like Libya, Egypt, France, and — as we saw last week — even the U.S.

There are answers here to make our nation safe, but once again the President seems incapable of finding them. His administration is focused on enacting gun laws that won’t stop terrorists while it continues to push policies that will let more of them into the country.

To defeat radical Islam once and for all, America must have confidence in our constitutional republic, our leadership and our values. I will do everything I can to protect and uphold the liberty of all Americans, all while making the country stronger and safer.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:33:33Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-introduces-full-expensing-act-2015/,Sen. Rand Paul Introduces Full Expensing Act of 2015,2015-12-07,2015,2015-12,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"Permanently Expands Section 179 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week, U.S. Senator Rand Paul introduced S.2350, the Full Expensing Act of 2015. This legislation would level the playing field for all U.S. industries by expanding and extending Section 179 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code (tax code) to permanently allow businesses to deduct 100% of their business expenses within the year of purchase. According to the Tax Foundation, this simple tax reform will boost the gross domestic product (GDP) by 5.13%, increase wages by 4.36% percent, create nearly 900,000 jobs, and raise federal revenues by $121.3 billion.

Currently, under Section 179, businesses are able to deduct the purchase price of certain qualified business expenses from their taxable income. Section 179’s current deduction limits of $25,000 on purchases of up to $200,000 fail to reflect high costs in the agriculture, food and beverage, and manufacturing industries that make up the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s economy. Hefty startup costs and routine equipment purchases ranging from $35,000 to $400,000 per item continue to act as an unnecessary barrier for young entrepreneurs and aspiring farmers. Full expensing is a vital part of supporting small business and job creation.

“By eliminating the need for continual tax extenders and removing the complicated depreciation schedule, the Full Expensing Act will act to promote economic growth and capital investment and, ultimately, bring stability to our nation’s tax code,” Sen. Paul said.

Click HERE to read the legislation in its entirety.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:33:33Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-uncovers-400000-grant-reduce-regulations-armenia-latest-waste-report/,"Sen. Rand Paul Uncovers $400,000 Grant to Reduce Regulations in Armenia in Latest ‘The Waste Report’",2015-12-07,2015,2015-12,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released the latest edition to ‘The Waste Report,’ which is an ongoing project cataloguing egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government.

The latest edition reveals the U.S. Agency for International Development’s expenditure of approximately $400,000 in grants to reduce and streamline the regulatory burdens for businesses in Armenia. However, at the same time, other agencies of the government are increasing the pace of expanding regulations at home and spending tens of billions of dollars to enforce them every year.

‘The Waste Report’ can be found HERE or below.

After years of complaints from across the country about the burdens of over-regulation, the federal government is finally cracking down and taking a “guillotine” to the regulatory colossus—only in Armenia, and not in the United States.

In a glaring display of contradiction, the U.S. Agency for International Development has backed approximately $400,000 in grants to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe to reduce and streamline the regulatory burdens on businesses in Armenia.[1]

It should be noted, of course, that eliminating burdensome regulations is generally a good thing. In fact, the “guillotine,” as it is known, applies important criteria to regulations, such as whether a regulation is legal, necessary, and business-friendly.[2] This is obviously criteria that our own federal government should be applying to regulations here at home. Unfortunately, the American taxpayer will have to wait to see their tax dollars support U.S. regulatory reform at home.

In fact, while the federal government is funding a “regulatory guillotine” in foreign countries, the Obama administration is adding approximately 81 major regulations annually, which is just slightly worse than the 62 added annually under President Bush.[3]

And what is a major regulation? Well, according to law, it costs the economy at least $100 million in economic activity, creates a major cost increase for consumers, or has an adverse effect on employment and the competitiveness of American businesses.[4] In total, it is estimated that regulations cost the American economy $1.88 trillion annually.[5] Aside from the cost to the economy, the Mercatus Center at George Mason University estimates that the federal government itself spends almost $50 billion creating and enforcing regulations.[6]

One would justifiably assume that Armenia is suffering under a terrible regulatory climate if it requires intervention from our government. Armenia is trying to address about 25,000 laws and regulations hindering business. Project documents note this number is burdensome and that, “[o]bviously, the creation of open competitive market[s] require simple and transparent rules for doing business.”

How, then, does the U.S. stack up? According to Regdata.org, the U.S. has over 1.04 million regulations,[7] or over 40 times the number of crushing regulations as Armenia.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:33:33Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-introduces-defend-our-capital-act-amendment-reconciliation-bill/,Sen. Rand Paul Introduces “Defend Our Capital Act” Amendment to Reconciliation Bill,2015-12-03,2015,2015-12,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today introduced the Defend Our Capital Act of 2015 as an amendment to H.R.3761, Restoring American’s Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015. The legislation would remove existing restrictive firearm ownership laws in the District of Columbia, and require the District of Columbia to issue and grant reciprocity for concealed weapons permits for both residents and non-residents.

“For too long the Americans who live in and visit their nation’s capital have been prevented from defending themselves and their loved ones. No longer should our citizens have to choose between safety or visiting Washington, D.C.,” Sen. Paul said.

Click HERE to read the text of the Defend Our Capital Act in its entirety.

Top-line bullet points and background information for the legislation can be found below.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Requires the District of Columbia to issue both resident and non-resident conceal and carry weapons (CCW) licenses. The District of Columbia will honor any CCW license issued by any other state or commonwealth.

Allows for the national reciprocity of CCW licenses between all states in accordance with local states regulations.

Active duty members of the Armed Forces may carry a concealed weapon on Department of Defense property. In addition, members of the Armed Forces would be allowed to carry a concealed weapon without a permit, similar to retired law enforcement officers.

Legislation repeals many of the D.C. requirements and policies that hinder firearms ownership, that includes registration of weapons and ammunition, removal of the ban on semiautomatic weapon possession, and restores the right to self-defense within a home.

Legislation allows for the purchase of handguns across state lines in the same manner as long rifles and shotguns.

Allows for the carrying of a concealed weapon on publically accessible, non-sensitive areas of federal property. This can include post offices, Veterans Affairs parking facilities, Federal Bureau of Prisons Correction Officer parking lots, and the National Mall.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:33:33Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-introduces-secure-act-amendment-prevent-terrorists-entering-us-refugees/,Sen. Rand Paul Introduces “SECURE Act” Amendment to Prevent Terrorists From Entering the U.S. as Refugees,2015-12-03,2015,2015-12,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"SECURE Act: Stop Extremists Coming Under Refugee Entry Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today introduced the Stop Extremists Coming Under Refugee Entry Act (SECURE Act) as an amendment to H.R.3761, Restoring American’s Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015. The legislation would suspend visa issuance for countries with a high risk of terrorism and impose a waiting period for background checks on visa issuance from other countries until the American people can be assured terrorists cannot enter the country through our immigration and visa system. This legislation is based off language first proposed by Sen. Paul in 2013. Sen. Paul introduced S.2329, the SECURE Act, as a stand-alone bill earlier this year.

Sen. Paul also introduced today three amendments to H.R.3761 that would restrict funding to resettle refugees in the U.S.

Click HERE to read the text of the SECURE Act in its entirety.

Top-line bullet points and background information for the SECURE Act offered as an amendment can be found below.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Enhances Screening for High-Risk Refugees

Designates 33 countries as “high-risk” and places an immediate moratorium on refugee and asylum approvals from those countries;

Within 30 days, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will provide to Congress a comprehensive assessment of the status of refugees and the screening process, including numbers and countries of origin, failed security checks, information on refugees that do not comply with requests related to security screening, or who cannot be located;

The Secretary of Homeland Security shall certify to Congress within 30 days that enhanced background checks and monitoring have been implemented, and that Congress has been supplied with all necessary information on the status of refugee screening;

Once the Secretary of Homeland Security has completed the 3 requirements below, Congress can review whether satisfactory progress has been made and hold a separate vote to resume approvals for refugees from high-risk countries.

Submit the DHS refugee screening assessment;

Certify that an enhanced screening capability has been implemented; and

Certify to the elimination of any existing security screening backlogs.

Improves Security in Non-Immigrant and Visa Waiver Travel

For all non-immigrant visas, the bill specifies that 30 days of security review are required prior to approval for entry to the United States;

For those from “high risk” countries, there is an immediate moratorium on approvals for entry to the United States until the Secretary of State, Secretary of Homeland Security, and Director of National Intelligence jointly certify that a national security screening process is implemented, and that the new process significantly improves our ability to identify potential security risks.

Requires DHS to certify once it has completed and implemented the 1990’s requirement set forth in the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act for full biometric entry and exit tracking of U.S. visitors.

Once the certifications are made, Congress may consider resumption of regular approvals from high-risk countries.

Expands Enrollment Opportunities for Trusted Traveler Programs

Trusted travelers are not subject to additional security reviews once approved for enrollment;

DHS may accept and consider applications, and may approve qualified applicants, to enroll from any country;

DHS will give preference to applications for enrollment filed in order:

U.S. citizens;

U.S. legal permanent residents;

Citizens of Visa Waiver participant countries;

Aliens with significant documented travel history to and from the U.S.;

All remaining applicants.

All application fees collected by DHS for enrollment in a trusted traveler program are specifically designated to pay for the cost of enhanced screening.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:33:33Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-senate-votes-sen-rand-pauls-defend-our-capital-act-amendment-budget-reconciliation-bill/,Senate Votes on Sen. Rand Paul’s “Defend Our Capital Act” Amendment to Budget Reconciliation Bill,2015-12-03,2015,2015-12,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor tonight urging his colleagues to support his amendment No. 2915 to H.R.3761, Restoring American’s Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015. The amendment, known as the Defend Our Capital Act of 2015, would remove existing restrictive firearm ownership laws in the District of Columbia, and require the District of Columbia to issue and grant reciprocity for concealed weapons permits for both residents and non-residents.

The vote, which needed 60 to pass, was 54-45.

Click HERE to read the Defend Our Capital Act in its entirety. Top-line bullet points and background information for the legislation can be found HERE.

The video and transcript of Sen. Paul’s remarks can be found below.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH SEN. PAUL’S FLOOR SPEE CH

TRANSCRIPT

Sen. Paul: Last week, the District of Columbia Police Chief said that if you see an active shooter, take them down.

The problem is it’s very difficult to own a gun in D.C., and it’s nearly impossible to be able to have a gun with you if you were to see an active shooter.

So my amendment would create a District of Columbia concealed carry permit program. It would also allow national reciprocity for concealed carry.

And it would also allow active duty forces to carry concealed carry on Department of Defense properties.

And I ask the Senate and those Senators who believe in self-defense to vote for this amendment.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:33:33Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-senate-votes-sen-rand-pauls-secure-act-amendment-prevent-terrorists-entering-us-refugees/,Senate Votes on Sen. Rand Paul’s “SECURE Act” Amendment to Prevent Terrorists From Entering the U.S. as Refugees,2015-12-03,2015,2015-12,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"SECURE Act: Stop Extremists Coming Under Refugee Entry Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On the U.S. Senate floor today, Senator Rand Paul delivered the following remarks urging his colleagues to support his amendment to H.R.3761, Restoring American’s Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015. Amendment No. 2899, known as the Stop Extremists Coming Under Refugee Entry Act (SECURE Act), would suspend visa issuance for countries with a high risk of terrorism and impose a waiting period for background checks on visa issuance from other countries until the American people can be assured terrorists cannot enter the country through our immigration and visa system. This legislation is based off language first proposed by Sen. Paul in 2013, and was introduced as a stand-alone bill, S.2329, earlier this year.

The amendment failed passage with a vote of 10-89.

Click HERE to read the text of the SECURE Act in its entirety. The video and transcript of Sen. Paul’s remarks can be found below.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH SEN. PAUL’S FLOOR SPEECH

TRANSCRIPT

Sen. Paul: Mr. President, we spend hundreds of billions of dollars defending our country, and yet we cannot really truly defend our country unless we defend our border.

My bill would place pause on issuing Visas to countries that are at a high risk for exporting terrorists to us.

My bill would also say to Visa waiver countries that in order to come and visit, you would have to go through Global Entry, which would require a background check.

I would urge Senators who truly do want to defend our country to have increased border security by voting for this amendment. Thank you.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:33:33Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-requests-expedited-ruling-international-trade-administration-ashlands-ak-steel/,Dr. Rand Paul Requests Expedited Ruling from International Trade Administration for Ashland’s AK Steel Plant,2015-12-01,2015,2015-12,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul announced today that he sent a letter to the International Trade Administration (ITA) requesting an expedited ruling on whether or not China, India, Italy, South Korea, and Taiwan are guilty of depressing the price of foreign steel introduced into U.S. markets. The letter advocates for the ITA to make a determination prior to the announced layoffs so AK Steel Holding Corporation, and the Ashland community, can incorporate ITA’s final decision into the status of layoffs at the steel plant.

Sen. Paul met with community and regional leadership in Kentucky last Monday regarding layoffs at the AK Steel plant, and on Tuesday sent the letter to the ITA requesting them to expedite their decision making process and make a determination before layoffs occur in December.

Sen. Paul has been engaged on this issue since he was first notified of the situation. He released the following statement:

“This is an issue incredibly important to the hard-working families in Ashland and the surrounding areas, as well as Kentucky as a whole. Since first learning of the situation, my office has been engaged and in touch with all parties to do whatever we can to help. I will continue to stay involved with this issue and sincerely hope for a favorable outcome,” Sen. Paul said.

A copy of the letter can be found below.

LETTER TEXT:

The Honorable Penny S. Pritzker Secretary of Commerce

U.S. Department of Commerce

1401 Constitution Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20230

Dear Secretary Pritzker:

I urge the International Trade Administration to issue a final ruling before December 18th on corrosion resistant steel (CORE) imports. Previous rulings from the ITA and the U.S. International Trade Commission have indicated there is substantial evidence China, India, Italy, South Korea and Taiwan are providing CORE imports at an unfair market price.

AK Steel and five other domestic steel producers have accused China, India, Italy, South Korea and Taiwan of purposefully undervaluing their CORE imports in order to increase market share in the U.S. AK Steel and plaintiffs filed their complaint on June 3, 2015.

The ITC commission issued a unanimous preliminary decision on July 16, 2015, making a determination that five import countries are causing harm to the domestic steel industry. In November, ITA makes a determination that five countries are devaluing the price of their CORE imports.

On October 16, 2015, AK Steel sent a letter to the mayor of Ashland, Kentucky, stating the company would temporarily layoff employees at the local steel plant and said the, “onslaught of unfairly traded imports, “was one of the reasons for the layoffs. The plant employs over 700 people from the local area. If the plant were to shutdown, not only would there be hundreds of people unemployed but surrounding businesses would also be affected.

The temporary layoffs are to occur between December 18th and December 30th.

I respectfully request that you give a determination on this case before December 18th. This will allow the company, and the community in general, to incorporate your response into the decisions regarding the status of the layoffs in Ashland.

Rand Paul, M.D.

United States Senator

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:33:33Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-uncovers-national-science-foundation-450000-global-warming-video-game-latest/,"Sen. Rand Paul Uncovers National Science Foundation $450,000 Global Warming Video Game in Latest ‘The Waste Report’",2015-11-30,2015,2015-11,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released the latest edition to ‘The Waste Report,’ which is an ongoing project cataloguing egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government.

The latest edition uncovers a $450,000 project at the National Science Foundation (NSF) to produce a video game aimed to educate students about global climate change and how to prevent it. The initiative, known as the Climate Change Narrative Game Education (CHANGE), creates a video game set 110 years in the future, which the NSF claims to be “scientifically realistic.”

‘The Waste Report’ can be found HERE or below.

A whole generation remembers the thrill of strolling into an elementary school computer lab, firing up an Apple II computer, and playing The Oregon Trail. Well, thanks to an almost $450,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, it appears a whole new generation of students will have their own iconic game…on climate change.[1]

Apparently “[e]ducating young people about Global Climate Change (GCC) is challenging because they have difficulty relating to its slow pace, with larger effects 10s-100s years in to the future.”[2] How to solve that problem? A video game aimed at indoctrinating kids into the climate change way of thinking.

The Climate Change Narrative Game Education (CHANGE), which is being developed by researchers at the University of South Florida and piloted at Hillsborough County high schools, aims to counter this morass by, “develop[ing] a place-based futuristic gaming simulation model…”[3] Of course, the CHANGE project is all supposed to be “scientifically realistic.”

The game will involve a science fiction narrative of the effects of climate change on the students’ community as told by virtual persons from the future. This, “focus on the built environment will help students attach a ‘human face’ and a sense of immediacy to hitherto abstract issues of global warming.” The first part of the game will ask students to deal with simulations like severe weather and sea-level rise, while the second part of the game will group students in teams to create plans to “save the future.”[4]

How far in the future? Well, 110 years. Recall that Doc Brown and Marty only went 30 years in the future; and while Back to The Future was a great movie trilogy, accurately predicting just 30 years in the future proved pretty hard.

Perhaps the government, instead of Hollywood is better at predicting the future? Take for example Dr. John Holdren, who is the President’s Chief Science Advisor and was a technical advisor on former Vice President Al Gore’s movie An Inconvenient Truth. In 1986, he predicted 1 billion people would die as a result of global warming by the year 2020. At his 2009 confirmation hearing he was asked if he still believed climate change would kill 1 billion by 2020. He said, “I think it could happen.”[5] Scared yet?

Here’s a prediction: the real science behind this game is psychology and political science.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:30:58Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-releases-special-thanksgiving-edition-waste-report/,Sen. Rand Paul Releases Special Thanksgiving Edition of ‘The Waste Report’,2015-11-23,2015,2015-11,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"Report Calls Attention to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Specialty Crop Block Grant Program

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released a special Thanksgiving edition of ‘The Waste Report,’ which is an ongoing project cataloguing egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government.

The special edition of ‘The Waste Report’ calls attention to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Specialty Crop Block Grant program. Over 300 specialty crops are eligible for federal support from the $72.5 million program. A sampling of the specialty crops eligible includes: apples, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, peaches, sweet corn, potatoes, green beans, peas, broccoli, grapes, almonds, pears, cherries, carrots, and brussels sprouts.

The special edition of ‘The Waste Report’ can be found HERE or below.

On Thursday, millions of Americans will sit down to Thanksgiving dinner. While you enjoy Thanksgiving staples of sweet potatoes and green beans, you might not realize that according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), except for the turkey and stuffing, just about everything else on your table is considered a “specialty crop” and eligible for federal support from the $72.5 million Specialty Crop Block Grant program (SCBGP). [1]

According to USDA, “The SCBGP focuses on projects that enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops…the block grants are designed to increase the long-term success of producers and broaden the market for specialty crops.”[2] Allowable activities under these grants include some types of marketing, travel, consultants, attending conferences, development of websites or mobile apps, and more.

So what exactly qualifies as a specialty crop? You may be envisioning some exotic herb or something new to the market. It would probably something rare, atypical, and thus in need of competitive enhancement. You will probably be surprised to learn that according to USDA, just about everything is “special.”

In fact, the USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said in his April 18, 2014 blog post, “Specialty crops make up the bulk of what we eat—all of our fruits and vegetables, tree nuts and dried fruits—as well as things like cut flowers and nursery crops.”[3] It seems when Congress created the program, the definition of “specialty” was wide enough you could drive a truck through it… and it is a big truck.

But the bulk of what we eat? Yes, USDA lists over 300 special crops and only 36 non-qualified crops. So what exactly is on the list? Here is just a sampling:

• apples • strawberries • raspberries • blueberries • blackberries • peaches • sweet corn • potatoes • green beans • peas (all varieties) • broccoli • grapes • almonds • pears • cherries • carrots • Brussels sprouts (yuck) •[4]

Seems these are hardly new and unheard of crops. In a USDA blog post a Deputy Administrator said of one specialty crop, “[w]hether purchased fresh, frozen, or pureed, the blueberry has long been a staple in the diets of many people.” A specialty-staple, who knew? Even more weird is quinoa is on the non-qualified list of crops.[5]

Oh, and it is not just food. Turf grass (sod) makes the cut and so do live Christmas trees. So even after Thanksgiving dinner is over your pocketbook is not safe – your tax dollars might have gone to support the football field you see on TV or the tree the family cuts down at the local u-cut place.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:30:58Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-demands-vote-amendment-block-taxpayer-benefits-new-refugees-high-risk-countries/,Sen. Rand Paul Demands Vote on Amendment to Block Taxpayer Benefits for New Refugees from High-Risk Countries,2015-11-19,2015,2015-11,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today on the Senate floor demanded a vote on his amendment to the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations Act. Amendment 2843, introduced earlier this week, would block taxpayer benefits for new refugees from high-risk countries. The transcript of Sen. Paul’s remarks and clips of both floor speeches are available below.

Click HERE to read the amendment in its entirety.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH SEN. PAUL’S FIRST FLOOR SPEECH

CLICK HERE TO WATCH SEN. PAUL’S SECOND FLOOR SPEECH

TRANSCRIPT

First Floor Speech

Mr. Paul: Reserving the right to object. Over a thousand Americans have called my office in the last couple of days and they’re very concerned about admitting people to the Middle East that we’re not sure of what their intentions are. The Boston bombers were here under the refugee program. Two Iraqi refugees came to my state with the intent to buy stinger missiles to attack us.

I’ve asked for a very simple amendment. I would like to have an amendment placed in the queue for a vote that lets the American people vote on whether or not we want to bring more people to here from the Middle East, whether we’re doing an adequate job screening these people. I think it’s a very reasonable request to have a vote on that.

And, therefore, until I am allowed to have a vote for which I think the American people are clamoring for, I will continue to object. I object.

The Presiding Officer: Objection is heard.

Mr. Paul: I also ask unanimous consent that I bring forward my amendment to limit and end the subsidized housing for new people to come here from the Middle East. My amendment is 2843. And I ask unanimous consent that I be allowed to set aside the current business and bring my amendment forward.

Second Floor Speech

Mr. Paul: Madam president?

The Presiding Officer: The senator from Kentucky.

Mr. Paul: The biggest issue of the day is how we protect ourselves from terrorism. My amendment goes to the heart of the matter. Are we sufficiently vetting those who might come here and attack us from the Middle East?

Mr. Inhofe: Would you yield?

Mr. Paul: I don’t think we are. The two Boston bombers were here during the refugee program. Two Iraqi refugees came to my hometown in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Mr. Inhofe: Parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. Paul: I have an amendment that is not only pertinent to the biggest issue of the day, I have an amendment that is germane for those who make a mockery of this process by saying we’re going to have regular order. We’re not going to have regular order.

The Presiding Officer: Is there objection?

Mr. Paul: Until we address the issues of the day on a germane amendment. I object.

The Presiding Officer: Objection is heard.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:30:58Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-introduce-defend-our-capital-act-2015/,Sen. Rand Paul to Introduce Defend Our Capital Act of 2015,2015-11-19,2015,2015-11,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul announced plans to introduce the Defend Our Capital Act of 2015 in the coming days. This legislation would remove existing restrictive firearm ownership laws in the District of Columbia, and require the District of Columbia to issue and grant reciprocity for concealed weapons permits for both residents and non-residents.

“For too long the Americans who live in and visit their nation’s capital have been prevented from defending themselves and their loved ones. No longer should our citizens have to choose between safety or visiting Washington, D.C.,” Sen. Paul said.

Top-line bullet points and background information for the Defend Our Capital Act of 2015 can be found below.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

· Requires the District of Columbia to begin issuing concealed weapons permits for both residents and non-residents.

· Requires the District of Columbia to grant reciprocity of concealed weapons permits issued by other states and commonwealths.

· Eliminates existing District of Columbia laws that restrict firearms and ammunition ownership.

· Allows for national reciprocity of conceal and carry weapons permits between states and for carry by active duty military.

· Allows for the carrying of firearms on public, non-sensitive areas of federal property.

· Allows for the purchase of firearms across state lines.

No related posts.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:30:58Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-floor-speech-sen-rand-paul-offers-amendment-block-taxpayer-benefits-new-refugees-high-risk/,FLOOR SPEECH: Sen. Rand Paul Offers Amendment to Block Taxpayer Benefits for New Refugees from High-Risk Countries,2015-11-18,2015,2015-11,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – On the U.S. Senate floor today, Senator Rand Paul introduced an amendment to the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations Act to block taxpayer benefits for new refugees from high-risk countries. Below is the video and transcript of Sen. Paul’s remarks.

Click HERE to read the amendment in its entirety.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH SEN. PAUL’S FLOOR SPEECH

TRANSCRIPT

Sen. Paul: Mr. President, make no mistake, we have been attacked in the past by refugees or by people posing as refugees. The two Boston bombers were here as refugees. They didn’t take very kindly to what we gave them – education, food, clothing, and they chose to attack our country.

In Bowling Green, Kentucky, we had two Iraqi refugees who came through the refugee program, posing as refugees and then promptly decided to buy stinger missiles. Fortunately, they got them from an F.B.I. Agent and we caught them, but when we caught them, we discovered that their fingerprints were already on bomb fragments in Iraq in our database, and yet we had no clue and admitted them anyway.

I think we have an insufficient process for knowing who’s here legally and illegally. There are eleven million people in our country illegally, 40% of them have overstayed their Visa. Do we know who they are? Do we know where they are? If we extrapolate those statistics to those who are visiting our country from the Middle East, do we know where the 150,000 students are who say they’re going to school in our country from the Middle East? I don’t think we do. I don’t think we should continue adding people to the rolls of those coming from the Middle East until we absolutely know who is in our country and what their intentions are.

So my amendment says this that we’re not going to bring them here and put them on government assistance. When the poem beneath the statue of liberty says give me your tired, give me your poor, it didn’t say come to our country and we’ll put you on welfare. In those days, you came for opportunity. Many Christian churches have supported refugees. My church has supported refugees coming here. That’s charity. But when you put them on welfare, that is not charity.

We borrow a million dollars a minute. We don’t have enough money to do this. It’s a threat to our national security. And my amendment would end the housing assistance for refugees in order to send a message to the President the people have spoken, we are unhappy with your program. If you will not listen to the American people, we will take the money from the purse.

Thank you, Mr. President.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:30:58Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-announces-amendment-block-taxpayer-benefits-new-refugees-high-risk-countries/,Sen. Rand Paul Announces Amendment to Block Taxpayer Benefits for New Refugees from High-Risk Countries,2015-11-18,2015,2015-11,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today announced plans to introduce an amendment to the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations Act to block taxpayer benefits for new refugees from high-risk countries. Text of the amendment will be available shortly.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:30:58Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-senate-passes-resolution-disapproval-protecting-kentuckys-coal-industry-co-sponsored-sen-rand/,"Senate Passes Resolution of Disapproval Protecting Kentucky’s Coal Industry, Co-Sponsored by Sen. Rand Paul",2015-11-17,2015,2015-11,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate today voted through the Congressional Review Act on two resolutions of disapproval, S.J.Res. 23 and S.J.Res. 24, both co-sponsored by Senator Rand Paul. The resolutions would halt the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) destructive implementation of the Clean Power Plan, which would require Kentucky to reduce its carbon emissions by 39 percent. Upon voting on the resolutions, Senator Paul released the following statement:

“Protecting Kentucky’s coal miners and families from President Obama’s overreach has always been a priority of mine, and I will continue fighting every day to stop the destruction of Kentucky coal,” Sen. Paul said.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:30:58Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-uncovers-15000-grant-conference-balding-latest-waste-report/,"Dr. Rand Paul Uncovers $15,000 Grant for Conference on Balding in latest “The Waste Report”",2015-11-16,2015,2015-11,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released the latest edition of ‘The Waste Report,’ which is an ongoing project cataloguing egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government.

The latest edition calls attention to $15,000 granted by the National Institutes of Health to the 9th World Congress for Hair Research. This year’s conference is being held in Miami, Fla., and includes sessions like: Growing Better Hair: Impacting Pre-Emergent Hair via Scalp Condition, Hair Dye, Hair Care, and Robotic Hair Transplants. Hair loss treatment is a whopping $3.5 billion industry and the conference is partially funded by numerous corporate sponsors. Why, then, are your tax dollars needed as well? It would take an average American two years, two months and two weeks before their taxes would pay for this grant.

‘The Waste Report’ can be found HERE or below.

Maybe the comb runs through your hair a little easier than it used to, or trips to the barber take less time these days. But whether you have just accepted it, are trying to fight it, or are not even losing your hair at all, your tax dollars are going to combat baldness.

The National Institute of Health (NIH) spent $15,000 on a grant to put on the 9th World Congress for Hair

Research which is being held in Miami, Florida this week.[1] Hair research is not uncommon for NIH and the National Science Foundation to fund. But usually that research falls in one of two more metritis categories, the study of hair for forensic identification purposes, or the study of inner-ear hair and how it contributes to hearing loss.

But make no mistake the 9th World Congress is definitely about baldness. The theme this year’s conference is Reflect, Rejuvenate, and Regenerate, and includes sessions like, Growing Better Hair: Impacting Pre-Emergent Hair via Scalp Condition; Hair Dye; Hair Care; and Robotic Hair Transplants.[2]

Hair loss treatment by the way is a booming $3.5 billion industry.[3] So, aside from the obvious question, of why is the federal government is funding a hair loss conference, one has to wonder if this funding was needed in the first place.

In fact the World Congress has over twenty general sponsors including companies like Proctor and Gamble and Women’s Rogaine, who together contributed at least $125,000 in general sponsorship dollars, and more in event specific sponsorships. In addition to the sponsors, participants in the conference must pay between $675 and almost $1,200, and just one booth in the exhibit hall costs $3,500.[4]

Some may argue that with a $3.7 trillion budget and hundreds of millions of dollars of waste already identified in The Waste Report, $15,000 is not that bad. But consider the average American would have to work two years, two months, and almost two weeks before their taxes would pay this conference. That’s enough to make you pull your hair out.

The Federal Government: Guaranteed to Grow Waste on Any Surface.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:30:58Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-introduces-legislation-prevent-terrorists-entering-us-refugees/,Sen. Rand Paul Introduces Legislation to Prevent Terrorists From Entering the U.S. as Refugees,2015-11-16,2015,2015-11,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today announced legislation that would suspend visa issuance for countries with a high risk of terrorism and impose a waiting period for background checks on visa issuance from other countries until the American people can be assured terrorists cannot enter the country through our immigration and visa system. This legislation is based off language first proposed by Sen. Paul in 2013.

“The time has come to stop terrorists from walking in our front door. The Boston Marathon bombers were refugees, and numerous refugees from Iraq, including some living in my hometown, have attempted to commit terrorist attacks. The terrorist attacks in Paris underscore this concern that I have been working to address for the past several years. My bill will press pause on new refugee entrants from high-risk countries until stringent new screening procedures are in place,” Sen. Paul said.

Sen. Paul’s legislation would suspend issuance of visas to nationals of countries with a high risk of terrorism until the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) certifies and Congress votes to approve that:

1) Aliens already admitted from high-risk countries have been fingerprinted and screened, pose no terrorist risk, and are being monitored for terrorist activity

2) Enhanced security measures are in place to screen future applicants and prevent terrorists from entering the country

3) DHS’ visa entry-exit system is 100 percent complete and a tracking system is in place to catch attempted overstays

Additionally, the legislation would impose a 30-day waiting period for all entries to the U.S. in order for background checks to be completed, unless the traveler has been approved through the Global Entry program. This requirement will be lifted after DHS certifies and Congress approves that:

1) Screening of entrants is sufficient to prevent terrorists from entering the country

2) DHS’ visa entry-exit system is 100 percent complete and a tracking system is in place to catch attempted overstays

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:30:58Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-decries-43-million-spent-build-gas-station-afghanistan/,Dr. Rand Paul Decries $43 Million Spent To Build Gas Station in Afghanistan,2015-11-12,2015,2015-11,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released a special edition of ‘The Waste Report,’ which is an ongoing project cataloguing egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government.

This special edition draws attention to a gas station built by the United States’ Department of Defense (DOD) in Afghanistan that cost the American taxpayer an eye-popping $43 million. Many media outlets have already reported on this egregious example of government waste, but it is important to draw attention to the peculiar lack of planning put into this project that caused such a significant sum of money to be wasted, as well as, the apparent stonewalling of the DOD special inspector general’s investigation into the project.

‘The Waste Report’ can be found HERE or below.

Several news outlets have reported on a $43 million gas station built by the Department of Defense in Afghanistan. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction issued a Special Report in late October on the compressed natural gas (CNG) filling station, which cost at least 86 times more than similar projects.[1]

FSO dug deeper into the report and found the ridiculous price tag just scratches the surface.

To begin with, the IG found no evidence that DOD ever did a feasibility study before moving forward with the project. Had they done so, they would have found that Afghanistan, “[l]acks the natural gas transmission and local distribution infrastructure necessary to support a viable market for CNG vehicles.”

But even if getting CNG to the station was not a problem, it seems no one in Afghanistan can afford vehicles that run on the fuel. CNG conversion costs as much as $800, in a country where the average annual income is about $690. This may explain why the U.S. government paid to convert at least 120 Afghan vehicles to CNG. What is strange is one of the project goals was to expand CNG usage to Mazar-e Shariff because of its 100,000 cars. But DOD failed to do its home work, mischaracterized the city as the 2nd largest in the country (it is actually 4th) and ignoring the economics of transitioning those cars to CNG.

Even more troubling is that DOD seemed to have stonewalled the whole investigation. The IG noted that they discovered the vehicle conversions in a video on a contractor’s website (where they noted the U.S. government footed the bill). DOD simply did not respond to IG inquiries on that subject.

In fact, DOD did not answer any of the IG’s questions, saying the Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO-the $800 million program through which the project was funded) was shuttered in March of this year and no one knows anything about the program anymore. As the IG rightly said in the report’s cover letter, “Frankly, I find it both shocking and incredible that DOD asserts that it no longer has any knowledge about TFBSO, an $800 million program that reported directly to the Office of the Secretary of Defense and only shut down a little over six months ago.”

These are the ingredients of waste: An unaudited bureaucracy[2] flush with (your) cash, a rebuilding effort,

and an environmental angle in a warzone halfway around the world.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:30:58Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-seeks-answers-fed-inspector-general-about-fed-lobbying-activities/,Sen. Rand Paul Seeks Answers from Fed Inspector General About Fed Lobbying Activities,2015-11-10,2015,2015-11,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today sent a letter to the inspector general of the Federal Reserve (Fed) outlining his concerns with lobbying by the Fed and its officials against legislation to bring transparency to the Fed. This letter comes on the heels of new legislation announced last week by Sen. Paul, the Bring Accountability Now to the Fed Act, which would prohibit lobbying by the Fed and Fed officials.

A copy of the letter can be found below.

LETTER TEXT:

Mark Bialek

Inspector General

Office of Inspector General

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW

Mail Stop K-300

Washington, DC 20551

Dear Inspector General Bialek,

I am troubled that the Board of Governors, as well as Board members and employees, appear to be lobbying Congress and the public against legislation pending before Congress to bring greater transparency and accountability to the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve, as an entity of the government and operating under authority granted by Congress, should not use its funds to lobby members of Congress or influence Congress’s efforts to create a more transparent and fundamentally sound monetary policy.

I request your office investigate whether the Board, any Board members, or Board employees have engaged in improper or illegal lobbying, as well as respond to the following questions:

1. How much does the Federal Reserve spend on public relations?

2. How much does the Federal Reserve spend on lobbying Congress?

3. How much does the Federal Reserve spend on conferences, travel, or

other entertainment?

Sincerely,

Sen. Rand Paul

No related posts.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:30:58Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-exposes-medicare-overpaying-estimated-175-million-sleep-apnea-studies-latest/,Dr. Rand Paul Exposes Medicare Overpaying an Estimated $175 Million on Sleep Apnea Studies in Latest ‘The Waste Report’,2015-11-09,2015,2015-11,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released the latest edition to ‘The Waste Report,’ which is an ongoing project cataloguing egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government.

The latest edition exposes Medicare overpaying as much as $175 million annually on sleep studies seeking to determine if the individual suffers from sleep apnea – a condition that causes an individual to momentarily stop breathing during sleep. At the root of the problem, Medicare is paying bills for services that are missing proper documentation, such as a doctor’s referral. Furthermore, the estimated $175 million could be used to actually treat patients suffering from sleep apnea or other conditions, if corrected.

‘The Waste Report’ can be found HERE or below.

You have probably heard of sleep apnea, the condition where a person momentarily stops breathing during sleep. In fact, Medicare alone spends almost $300 million a year on sleep studies determining if patients have this condition. Unfortunately, it seems Medicare has a problem with overpaying for these important studies, which costs taxpayers as much as $175 million a year.

In a recent report, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG) noted that one provider of sleep studies recently agreed to repay $15.3 million resulting from false claims.[1]

The OIG report delved into another sleep study provider from Orlando that was estimated to have been overpaid more than $1 million, or almost 60 percent of all payments they received. Specifically, the OIG found, that in a sample of 100 patients, 74 percent of items billed were not allowable under Medicare guidelines. In addition, nearly one-third of those payments were made without supporting documentation, such as a doctor’s referral. And, in one instance, Medicare paid for a procedure that was not even done.[2]

Shockingly, roughly 60 percent of payments made to this particular provider were over 3-years old. Which means Medicare paid the bill for services without the required documentation and never followed up again.[3] This never would have been noticed if it were not for the Inspector General. If this is the trend, then the government could be improperly paying as much as $175 million a year just on sleep studies.

It is no wonder that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimated earlier this year that Medicare makes over $45 billion, or roughly 12.7 percent of its outlays, in improper payments annually. Further GAO lists a root cause of Medicare improper payments as “[i]nsufficient documentation for home health claims…”[4]

For those keeping score, earlier this year, the Waste Report reported how Coast Guard members were able to use a medical travel program to take vacations. What made this waste possible? Travel approvals made without required documentation, including missing doctor referrals. See a trend?

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:30:58Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-announces-legislation-ban-federal-reserve-lobbying/,Sen. Rand Paul Announces Legislation to Ban the Federal Reserve from Lobbying,2015-11-05,2015,2015-11,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today announced plans to introduce legislation that would ban the Federal Reserve (Fed), and all of its personnel, from lobbying Congress and the American people against legislation to bring transparency to the Fed or other matters. The legislation, known as the Bring Accountability Now to the Fed Act, prohibits anyone acting on behalf of the Fed from actively supporting or opposing legislation before Congress.

“The Fed has used its immense power to bailout Wall Street and print money to finance our debt. When anyone rises up to challenge them, Fed officials use taxpayer dollars to lobby for more power and against oversight of their activities. It is time for Congress and the American people to say enough is enough,” Sen. Paul said.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:30:58Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-reintroduces-audit-fed/,Sen. Rand Paul Reintroduces “Audit the Fed”,2015-11-04,2015,2015-11,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today reintroduced the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2015, widely known as “Audit the Fed,” taking steps to place it directly on the Senate Legislative Calendar. The bill eliminates restrictions on Government Accountability Office audits of the Federal Reserve and mandates that the Federal Reserve’s credit facilities, securities purchases, and quantitative easing activities be subject to congressional oversight. Sen. Paul originally introduced the legislation for the 114th Congress in January 2015.

Rule XIV allows Audit the Fed to be placed directly on the Senate Legislative Calendar so that the legislation can be called up for immediate consideration.

“Today, I reintroduced my legislation to conduct a complete and thorough audit of the Federal Reserve and am seeking a vote soon. The Fed operating under a cloak of secrecy has gone on for far too long. The American people have a right to know exactly how Washington is spending their money. The time to act is now,” Sen. Paul said.

Cosponsors of the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2015 include: U.S. Senators Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), John Barrasso (R-WY), Roy Blunt (R-MO), John Boozman (R-AR), Shelley Capito (R-WV), John Cornyn (R-TX), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Steve Daines (R-MT), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Dean Heller (R-NV), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Mike Lee (R-UT), Rob Portman (R-OH), James Risch (R-ID), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Tim Scott (R-SC), Pat Toomey (R-PA), and David Vitter (R-LA).

Click HERE to read the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2015 in its entirety.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:30:58Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-uncovers-usaids-plan-spend-6-million-promote-tourism-albania/,Dr. Rand Paul Uncovers USAID’s Plan to Spend $6 Million to Promote Tourism in Albania,2015-11-02,2015,2015-11,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"Uncle Sam: “Come Visit the US…or go to Albania”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released the latest edition of “The Waste Report,” an ongoing project cataloguing egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government. The latest edition draws attention to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). As part of Tourism as a Leading Edge, a joint venture with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, USAID is planning to spend six million hard-earned taxpayer dollars to study and promote the Albanian tourism industry. As if spending American taxpayer dollars to promote another nation’s economy is not bad enough, Albania’s tourism industry, as a percentage of GDP, is already larger than that of the United States. Furthermore, the U.S. government already contributes approximately $100 million to Brand USA, a public-private partnership, promoting the U.S. tourism industry to foreign vacationers. In other words, one effort is spending money to get foreign tourists to vacation in America and the other to get them to vacation in Albania. Essentially our federal government is working against itself.

The latest edition of “The Waste Report” can be found HERE or below.

Have you ever dreamed of a European vacation? Maybe you would like to check out England, France, Germany, or…Albania? Well, if you have not thought of spending your money on a trip to Albania, you might be surprised to learn the federal government is spending your tax dollars to study and promote the Albanian tourism industry.

That is right! The U.S. Agency for International Development is currently planning to award as much as $6 million as part of Tourism as a Leading Edge, a joint venture with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, for studies and work to improve tourism in Albania.[1]

The problem, it seems, is that the Eurozone economic crisis is having a negative ripple effect on the Albanian economy which previously relied heavily on remittances of earnings abroad, particularly from Greece.

To restart their economy, the Albanian government is hoping to capitalize on the country’s tourism potential, but it is the U.S. taxpayer who is footing at least part of the bill. Amazingly, tourism is already a major contributor to the Albanian economy. According to the grant description, tourism (in total) currently accounts for 17 percent of the nation’s economy. By comparison, The World Travel and Tourism Council reports that tourism contributes 9.5 percent to the worldwide economy and 8.4 percent to the U.S. economy.[2] This means Albania’s tourism economy, as a percent of GDP, is already larger than the U.S.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury Department contributes approximately $100 million to Brand USA, a joint public-private effort to promote the U.S. tourism industry by attracting foreign vacationers to America.[3] In other words, one part of the federal government is working against another; one effort spending money to get foreign tourists to vacation in American, the other to get them to vacation in Albania. What next? Provide public housing to people who already own their own homes? Oh wait, we do that too.

At the least, one must wonder: If this is a priority for the Albanian government, why is the U.S. taxpayer footing the bill?

Uncle Sam: “Come Visit the U.S. …or go to Albania”

###

__________________________________",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:30:58Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-remarks-prepared-delivery-sen-rand-paul-floor-speech-senate-votes-continuing-his-filibuster/,REMARKS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY: Sen. Rand Paul Floor Speech Before Senate Votes on Continuing his Filibuster on Budget Agreement,2015-10-30,2015,2015-10,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today will deliver a speech on the U.S. Senate floor regarding his opposition to the two-year federal budget agreement. Sen. Paul has been a strong and vocal advocate against an unlimited debt limit increase in the budget deal. This morning, Senate leadership will attempt to end Sen. Paul’s filibuster with a cloture vote. However, the filibuster will continue if 41 Senators vote with Sen. Paul against the budget deal.

Below is a transcript of Sen. Paul’s remarks prepared for delivery.

The number one threat to our country’s future is our debt. The number one threat to our national security is our debt.

This deal gives the President the power to borrow unlimited amounts of money.

This deal represents the worst of the Washington culture. The Left and the Right have come together in an unholy alliance to explode the debt. The Left gets more welfare, the Right gets more military contracts, and the Taxpayer is stuck with the bill!

This a bipartisan busting of the budget caps that will further indenture the next generation.

I promised the voters of Kentucky to oppose deficits, to oppose budgets that don’t balance, and to spend only what we have. I will not give this President or any President to power to borrow unspecified amounts of money.

Our debt now equals our entire economy.

Not raising the debt ceiling means we would be forced to only spend what comes in – also known as a balanced budget. I could accept that. But I also could accept a balanced budget amendment that brings us into balance over five years.

The debt threatens us like never before and now is the time to take a stand.

I have travelled far and wide across America and I have not met one Republican outside of DC who supports adding an unlimited increase in the debt ceiling.

I hope my colleagues will listen to their constituents before voting for this terrible, no good, rotten deal.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:28:00Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-pauls-late-night-filibuster-nearly-derails-debt-increase/,Sen. Rand Paul’s Late Night Filibuster Nearly Derails Debt Increase,2015-10-30,2015,2015-10,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Rand Paul delivered multiple speeches on the U.S. Senate floor regarding his opposition to the two-year federal debt and spending bill. In the dead of night, Senate leadership gathered the 60 votes needed to stop Sen. Paul’s filibuster and proceed to legislation raising the debt ceiling and breaking the spending caps promised in the Budget Control Act of 2011. Since coming to Washington in 2010, Sen. Paul has been an ardent opponent of Washington’s continued, reckless spending. Furthermore, Sen. Paul was opposed to any deal that gave the President an unlimited debt limit increase.

After cloture was invoked, Sen. Paul concluded his filibuster with a one-hour speech against the unholy alliance of right and left. At the end of his final speech, he raised a budget point of order that the bill violates Senate budget rules adopted earlier this year that protect the Social Security trust fund, ensuring we meet our obligations to seniors and not take that money to spend elsewhere. According to the Congressional Budget Office, this bill did exactly that. With this point of order Sen. Paul was appealing to his colleagues to remember our obligation to seniors. Unfortunately, Senators voted 64-35 to waive their own rules adopted earlier this year and proceed with spending the money.

A transcript of Sen. Paul’s remarks prepared for delivery and clips of his floor speeches are available below.

SEN. PAUL SPEAKS AGAINST BUDGET DEAL

SEN. PAUL SPEAKS AGAINST BUDGET DEAL PRIOR TO CLOTURE VOTE

SEN. PAUL SPEAKS AGAINST BUDGET DEAL POST CLOTURE

Transcript:

Sen. Paul: The number-one threat to our country’s future is our debt. The number-one threat to our national security is our debt. This deal gives the president the power to borrow unlimited amounts of money. This deal represents the worst of Washington culture. The left and the right have come together in an unholy alliance to explode the debt. The left gets more welfare. The right gets more military contracts. And the taxpayer is stuck with the deal. This is a bipartisan busting of the budget caps that will further indenture our next generation.

I promised the voters of Kentucky to oppose deficits, to oppose budgets that don’t balance and to spend only that which comes in. I will not give this president any power to borrow unspecified amounts of money. Our debt now equals our entire economy. Not raising the debt ceiling means we would be forced to only spend what comes in, also known as a balanced budget. I could accept that. But I could also accept a balanced budget that brings us to balance over five years. The debt threatens us like never before and now is the time to take a stand. I have traveled far and wide across America and I have not met one voter outside of D.C. Who supports adding an unlimited increase to the debt ceiling.

I hope my colleagues will listen and will listen very clearly to their constituents before voting for this terrible, rotten, no-good deal. The time is now to take a stand. The time is now to say enough is enough, no more debt. The very foundation of our country is threatened by the addition of debt. This is precisely the time when we should be using the leverage of raising the debt ceiling to exact budgetary reforms.

In 2011, that’s exactly what we did. We had the compromise that worked in the right direction. We had a compromise that said, we will set limits on both the military and the domestic spending. Instead what we have today is an unholy alliance of right and left. We wonder why the deficit grows no matter which party is involved, no matter which party is in charge. The deficit continues to grow because, frankly, many are not serious about reducing the debt.

Many up here are serious only about increasing spending for their sacred cow. The true compromise that is necessary in America is for both right and left to say, enough is enough. To say that the particular interest they have in spending money is hurting the country. It is time for the right to say, you know what? The country is not stronger by going further in debt. The country actually I believe is weaker. We do not project power from bankruptcy court. I think the time is now. Enough is enough. We shouldn’t be adding more debt. The left needs to acknowledge this as well.

The left may say, this is for humanitarian purposes. We want to help people. And I don’t doubt their motives but I do doubt whether you can help people from bankruptcy court. I think we are weakening our country. One of the reasons why we’ve been able to help so many people in our country is that we are the richest, most humanitarian country in the history of mankind. In the year 2014 alone, we gave away nearly $400 billion in private charity in this country. I fear that will not continue to last. I fear as this deficit mounts, as the debt mounts that it will drag us down.

Already some economists estimate that we’re losing a ton of medical jobs a year because of the burden of debt. I think what we need to do is have compromise in Washington but the compromise needs to be that the right and the left need to say we don’t have enough money at this point. Some say, well, we need to have military readiness, but this week in the defense committee and the armed services committee, they talked about $20 billion of waste in one program within the military. We’ve had secretaries of the cabinet departments, the secretary of the Navy saying that, you know what? We can save money within the Pentagon. But if we keep adding to the top line, if we keep adding more money, if we keep spending good money after bad, we’re going to bankrupt the country.

So I hope my colleagues will listen to their constituents because I’ve been in 40 of the 50 states and I have yet to meet a single voter who says keep adding to the debt, keep spending more money. What I find is the opposite. They say, work together to save the country. Work together not to add more debt. This debt-ceiling vote does something that is unprecedented. It doesn’t even add a certain amount to the debt. It adds an unspecified amount.

Over the next year, year and a half, we will add as much debt as can be crammed into the debt, as much money that can be spent. There will be no limits. We are giving an unspecified amount of borrowing power to the president. I don’t care whether it’s a Democrat president or a Republican president. It’s unconscionable to give unlimited borrowing authority to the president. As we contemplate this decision, we need to think beyond the short term, we need to think beyond the short term of self-constituencies on either side of the aisle and say enough’s enough. We don’t have the money. Let’s take a stand now and try to reform the process before it’s too late.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:28:00Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-floor-speech-sen-rand-paul-speaks-out-against-budget-agreement/,FLOOR SPEECH: Sen. Rand Paul Speaks Out Against Budget Agreement,2015-10-29,2015,2015-10,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul delivered the following remarks on the U.S. Senate floor today regarding his opposition to the two-year federal budget agreement.

For a point of clarification: after Sen. Paul announced his filibuster of the debt bill earlier this week, Senate Leadership moved to end the filibuster by filing cloture. Cloture is the mechanism in the rules to end debate, and thus end a filibuster. If 41 Senators vote with Sen. Paul, the filibuster will continue.

Below is video and transcript of Sen. Paul’s remarks.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH SEN. PAUL’S REMARKS ON THE SENATE FLOOR

TRANSCRIPT

Sen. Rand Paul: I rise today in opposition to raising the debt ceiling. I rise in particular in opposition to raising the debt ceiling without getting any sort of spending reform or budgetary reform in return. In fact, it will be completely the opposite. We will be raising the debt ceiling in an unlimited fashion. We will be giving President Obama a free pass to borrow as much money as he can borrow in the last year of his office. No limit, no dollar limit. Here you go, President Obama. Spend what you want.

We do this while also exceeding what are called budget caps. We have been trying to have spending restraint in Washington. It hasn’t worked very well, but at least there are some numbers that government is not supposed to exceed. These include spending caps for military spending as well as domestic spending. When I first arrived, I was part of a movement called the tea party movement. We came into prominence and I was elected primarily because I was concerned about the debt, worried about the debt that we were leaving to our kids and our grandkids, worrying that we were destroying the very fabric of the country with debt.

We came here in 2010 and we negotiated and negotiated, and the president said, President Obama said I won’t negotiate with you. He says I won’t negotiate with a gun to my head. The media all said you just always have to raise the debt ceiling. It’s irresponsible to use that as leverage to get reform. But you know what? We did get reform. The conservatives put forward something called Cut, Cap, and Balance. It was passed overwhelmingly in the House, blocked in the Senate, but ultimately there was something passed called sequestration, which put caps on both military and domestic spending. And it did slow down the rate of growth of government for a little while.

This is the problem with Congress. Congress will occasionally do something in the right direction, and then they take one step forward and two steps back. In 2013, we gave up on this sequestration when we added back in about $60 billion worth of money. Now we’re doing the same thing again. We’re going to add back in this time $80 billion, $50 billion in 2016, another $30 billion in 2017. We’re doing the opposite of what we should be doing.

We should be using the leverage of the debt ceiling, saying we’re not raising it again until you reform your ways, until you begin spending only money you have. Instead, we’re doing the opposite. We’re saying here, Mr. President, you can raise the debt as much as you want. You can spend as much as you want while you’re in office, and we’re going to do nothing. In fact, we’re going to help you. We’re going to exceed the caps so everybody gets what they want. So everyone in Washington’s is going to get something.

The right’s going to get more military money, the left’s going to get more welfare money. The secret handshake goes on, and the American public gets stuck with the bill. Now, I think one of the most important things we do is defend the country. If you ask me to prioritize it’s spending, I would say we have to defend the country above and beyond and before all else. But that doesn’t mean we’re stronger or safer if we’re doing this from bankruptcy court. I any the number-one threat to our country, the number-one threat to our security is debts, piling on of debt.

The debt threatens our national security, and yet we just want to pile it on, pill it on. This deal will do nothing but explode the debt. In fact, it doesn’t even limit how much the debt can go up. We’re giving the president a blank check.

We’re in the middle of a filibuster. This filibuster will go on to about 1:00 in the morning and then we will find out who the true conservatives in this town are. If you are conservative, you will say there is no way I’m going to vote to give an unlimited power to the president to borrow money. If you are a conservative, you’re going to say we shouldn’t be exceeding the budget caps. If anything, we should be passing more stringent budget caps. It disappoints me greater than I can possibly express that the party that I belong to that should be the conservative party doesn’t appear to be conservative. This is a big problem.

I’m traveling the country and I ask Republicans everywhere. I have yet to meet a single Republican who supports this deal. In the house, they voted on this yesterday. Do you know what the vote was? Two to one among Republicans to say this is a God-awful deal and we shouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole. It’s a terrible deal. House Republicans understood this. We should be doing the opposite. We should be taking the leverage of saying we’re not going to raise the debt ceiling unless we get reform. Instead, we went to the president and said here, raise the debt ceiling as much as you can possibly spend over the next year, and we’ll let you exceed the budget caps. It’s irresponsible, it shows a lack of concern for our country, for the debt, and it should go down in defeat.

When I ran for office in 2010, the debt was an enormous issue and the debt was $10 trillion. Some of us in the tea party were concerned because it had doubled in the last eight years. It doubled from five to ten under a Republican administration. And many of us were adamant that Republicans needed to do a better job. We had added new entitlement programs, we had added new spending, and the deficit got worse under Republicans. Now we’re under a Democrat president, and it’s set to double again.

This president will add more to the debt than all of the previous presidents combined. So we’re going to go from $10 trillion now to nearly $20 trillion. We may get close to $20 trillion. Now that we have increased the debt ceiling in an unspecified amount, we may well get to $20 trillion by the time this president leaves. Is it a problem? Some people say it’s just a big number.

I don’t know what a trillion dollars is. Well, if you want to imagine a trillion dollars, take $1,000 bills and put them in your hand. $1,000 bills four inches high is a million dollars. But if you want to have a trillion dollars in $1,000 bills, it would be 63 miles high. We’re talking about an amount of money that is hard to fathom, and you say what does that mean? How does that hurt me or my family?

Economists say that we are losing a million jobs a year to the burden of debt. The economists also say when your debt becomes as large as your economy, that you are in a worrisome place, that when the debt is as large as the economy, there’s a possibility that you may enter into a period when you might suffer a panic or a collapse or a burden so great that your economy can’t withstand it. 2008, we were very close to a panic. I think we get closer with each day.

The number-one priority up here shouldn’t be trying to scrounge around and find new money to spend. It should be trying to conserve. It should be doing something that some say is radical but I say is the absolute essence of common sense, and that is we should spend what comes in.

So often up here things become partisan and people just want to point fingers and say it’s that party that did it, they’re the ones responsible for the debt, but I want to let you in on a secret. This is a secret that goes on and on and on up here. It is something I call the unholy alliance. It is the unholy alliance between right and left. They both have sacred cows they want to spend money on.

So instead of saying you know what, the debt is a real problem and we both have to conserve in both areas, they both get together and raise the money for the secret cows. On the right we are busting the limits because the right wants more military spending, the left wants more for welfare, the unholy alliance a secret handshake, and what gets worse? The debt. We’re borrowing $1 million every minute, and it’s not going to end in a pretty way.

What do other conservatives have to say about this deal? Steve Moore at the Heritage Foundation writes “it’s the worst budget deal to be negotiated by the G.O.P. since George H.W. Bush violated his no new taxes pledge in 1990.”

Rush Limbaugh says, “the Republican party cannot campaign by running around blaming the Democrats for destroying the budget for overspending, for threatening the very fabric of the country. They can’t do it because they’re now complicit.”

Here’s the thing. We can’t point fingers and say oh, the Democrats are the big spenders. We now by this deal become complicit. We become equally guilty of supporting new debt. Now, some say well, gosh, you’ve got to raise the debt ceiling, right? If you don’t raise the debt ceiling, there will be default. Hogwash.

Do you know how much money comes into this place every month? Through taxes, about $250 billion comes in in taxes. Do you know what our interest payment is? About $30 billion. It might be as high as $60 billion, $70 billion, $80 billion. There is never not enough revenue to pay for interest. People say well, we couldn’t pay for everything.

I say well, maybe we shouldn’t spend it on everything. We have plenty of money that comes in every month to spend on interest, to spend on Medicare, to commend on Social Security and to spend on sailors and soldiers salaries and veterans’ affairs. Maybe the federal government shouldn’t be doing much else. These are the questions we have to ask. What would happen if the debt ceiling didn’t go up? You would have a balanced budget. How bad would that be? If your debt ceiling didn’t go up, you would spend what comes in. That’s what every American family does, you spend what comes in. I think this is absolutely what we need to do.

But even myself, I’m willing to compromise, so I’ve put forward a compromise. I’ve put forward a compromise that we tried in 2011. It’s called Cut, Cap, and Balance. My compromise would cut the deficit in half in one year, a dramatic lessening of the burden of debt. That’s the cut. The cap is that my bill would actually cap spending at 18% of G.D.P. What does that mean? 18% of the total amount of money spent in the economy. Why do we pick 18? Because that leads to a balanced budget.

The last part of my bill, the Cut, Cap, and Balance, is that we would pass a balanced budget amendment to the constitution. And I have kind of jokingly said but probably seriously, if we pass a balanced budget amendment to the constitution, we pass term limits, I will go back to being a doctor, which is my first love anyway, but we’ve got to fix the country. We’re destroying the country with debt. We’re drowning in a sea of debt, and neither party seems to be concerned with it anymore. So what I would do is I would say yes, I’ll compromise. I’ll raise the debt ceiling under those three conditions – cut the deficit in half, cap the spending and pass a balanced budget amendment to the constitution, and people say well, there aren’t the votes for that.

Why don’t we have a vote? Why don’t we allow a vote on Cut, Cap, and Balance, the conservative alternative to this deal that we’ve got on the floor? Why don’t we vote on an alternative, because there won’t be any amendments allowed? This will be pushed through without amendments. And I really object to that. This is supposed to be the body of deliberation.

We’re supposed to be able to deliberate over whether or not how we’re going to fix the problems of the country. And I think this is the number-one threat to us. We’re accumulating debt at a million dollars every minute. Someone’s got to stand up and do something about it. Taxpayers for common sense say about this we’re not a fan of this new agreement.

Cato writes the gipper, Ronald Reagan’s ghost, is probably to go down from heaven at the new budget deal between Congressional leaders and the Obama administration and saying there they go again. So let’s rephrase the question. What do advocates of fiscal restraint get in exchange for raising these spending caps? Well, if you peruse this agreement, it’s apparent they don’t get anything. So what we have traded is not just an increase, an unspecified increase in the debt ceiling.

We have said to President Obama, you can spend as much money as you want throughout the rest of your presidency, no limits. The National Taxpayers Union writes, “If the question on the budget and debt ceiling package is deal or no deal, taxpayers should clearly opt for the latter.” While the agreement contains a few meritorious provisions, it fails other savings and reforms necessary to address our nation’s $18.1 trillion debt problem. The debt is, without question, the number-one problem in the country. We will have a vote this evening and that vote will be, do you care?

Are you willing to do something to slow it down? Do you think we ought to use the leverage of the debt ceiling to slow down spending, or are you a profligate spender who will vote to bust the caps and who will vote to give President Obama unlimited borrowing authority? I think it is a clear-cut question. I will vote “No,” and I will continue this filibuster as long as there are enough votes here to allow it to continue.

At this point, I’d like to ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of my bill, Cut, Cap, and Balance, which is calendar number 274, S. 2182. I further ask that there be an hour of debate equally divided in the usual form, that following the use or yielding back of time, the bill be read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be made and laid upon the table.

I agree with the senator from Oregon that bipartisan agreement is necessary in this body, but I think we have in this agreement, bipartisan agreement in the wrong direction. The bipartisan agreement we need is to conserve across the board, for both sides to say that our sacred cow, whether it is military on the right or domestic spend on the left that they all will have to be conserved. We won’t be able to spend money that we don’t have.

And I think we’re becoming weaker and a nation the more we borrow. If we pass this bill, it isn’t a difference or a choice between calamity and continuing to add to the debt, which this bill will do. I fully believe that we can continue to make our payments. We have $250 billion a month that comes in, interest payment $30 billion. There’s absolutely no reason why we would ever default.

I have a bill called default protection act, which would ensure that Social Security, and Medicare and our soldiers’ salaries and the interest on the debt were paid for. So I think what we should be doing is doing the opposite kind of compromise.

Right and left should come together and say, you know what? I really want spending on this. And the right says I really want spending on the military. And they should come together and say, we don’t have any money. We’re borrowing $1 million a minute. So I think this bipartisan compromise goes in the wrong direction. What I would ask for is a bipartisan compromise to actually save money and borrow less. Thank you, Mr. President.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:28:00Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-uncovers-156-million-spent-free-community-college-foreign-students/,Dr. Rand Paul Uncovers $15.6 Million Spent on Free Community College for Foreign Students,2015-10-26,2015,2015-10,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released the latest edition of “The Waste Report,” an ongoing project cataloguing egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government. The latest edition draws attention to the Community College Initiative (CCI) Program that is administered by the United States’ State Department Office of Global Educational Programs at the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs (ECA). This fiscal year, the CCI program is slated to spend an astounding $15.6 million to bring foreign students to America to attend community college for free. For comparison’s sake, the same amount of money is enough to pay for approximately 2,330 semesters at an average-priced community college.

The latest edition of “The Waste Report” can be found HERE or below.

For millions of Americans, community colleges offer an affordable and convenient opportunity to begin a college career or to gain a competitive edge in the job market. But it turns out the federal government thinks community colleges should not be limited to, well, the community. Thu, it is planning to spend $15.6 million to bring foreign students to America to attend these institutions for one year.[1]

The FY2016 Community College Initiative (CCI) Program that is run by the State Department’s Office of Global Educational Programs at the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) plans to target poor students from several countries including India, Brazil, Indonesia, and Pakistan.[2]

India’s inclusion in the CCI is particularly interesting. Last year, the University Grants Commission of India (something of a national board of education) approved the creation of 98 new community colleges across India.[3]Meaning, American community colleges will now be in competition with Indian community colleges for students.

Even more shocking about the Indian case is that earlier this year the State Department issued a $70,000 grant opportunity to put on a traveling photo exhibition of American community colleges throughout India.[4] It seems Indian parents are not too sure about the concept of community college so the State Department has to put in an extra effort to sell the idea…with pictures. Two State Department boondoggles rolled in one.

The kids that do get to come to U.S. community colleges may select from only eight fields of study, including, Applied Engineering, Business Management and Administration, Media, and Public Safety. But with only one year of study they will not be able to take a two-year associate’s degree with them back to their home countries. Also, missing are staples of community college curricula such as nursing or vocational skills, which would prove useful in developing economies. At least the National Science Foundation’s winemaking classes do not appear to have made the cut either.

In case you were wondering, $15.6 million is enough to pay for 2,330 semesters at the average community college.[5]

###

_______________________________

[1] FY 2016 Community College Initiative Program; Department of State; Washington, DC; Funding Opportunity Number: ECA-ECAAS-16-008

[2] Ibid

[3] UGC approves 98 community colleges from five states, IndiaToday.IN; New Delhi, India; May 2014

[4] Photographic Exhibit on Community Colleges in the U.S.; Department of State, Mission to India; New Delhi, India; May 2015; Funding Opportunity Number: NDRFP16-07",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:28:00Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-introduces-resolution-senate-review-upcoming-climate-agreement/,Sen. Rand Paul Introduces Resolution for Senate Review on Upcoming Climate Agreement,2015-10-21,2015,2015-10,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul yesterday introduced Senate Resolution 290, a resolution calling for the U.S. Senate to reassert its constitutional role in treaty review. Specifically, the resolution highlights the need for any agreement reached at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris, France, to follow the past precedent for congressional review, established by the Senate’s call to review the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.

“One of the most important duties as a Senator is to uphold and defend the Constitution. My resolution will reassert the Senate’s constitutional role in treaty review and protect the balance of power within our government,” Sen. Paul said.

Earlier this week, Sen. Paul issued a Dear Colleague letter urging Senate colleagues to cosponsor Senate Resolution 290. Click HERE to read the Dear Colleague letter.

To read the resolution in its entirety, click HERE.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:28:00Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-uncovers-380k-nih-study-freshman-15-latest-waste-report/,Dr. Rand Paul Uncovers $380K NIH Study on ‘Freshman 15’ in Latest ‘The Waste Report’,2015-10-19,2015,2015-10,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released the latest edition to ‘The Waste Report,’ an ongoing project cataloguing egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government. The latest edition highlights the National Institutes for Health (NIH) conducting a $380,000 study seeking to identify how social relationships freshman year of college contribute to weight-related problems – commonly referred to as the “freshman 15.”

The latest edition of ‘The Waste Report’ can be found HERE or below.

The “freshman 15” is an old legend around college campuses; the idea that new college students, away from home and confronted with a campus food service smorgasbord tend to put on a few extra pounds.

Well the National Institutes for Health aims to get to the bottom of this with a $380,000 grant to study how social relationships in college contribute to weight-related problems.[1] Because it’s not the food you eat, it’s the friends you make.

The study being done at Arizona State University (ASU) seeks to identify how the friendships freshman make in college contribute to weight-gain and poor eating habits. In addition to collecting data on the types of friends college freshmen make, the study will, “survey friends of participating students across an academic year to explore friends’ potential impact on freshmen’s weight-related outcomes.”[2]

Nothing like asking your new friends about your eating habits. “So, how many chili dogs did Tom really eat?” “So, how many of your sorority sisters skipped breakfast?”

But there may be a wrinkle in this plan that makes it even more wasteful of tax dollars. College weight gain might not even be a problem. Numerous independent studies spanning decades have agreed that freshman only gain around 2.7 to 3.5lbs over their entire freshman year. It turns out it was Seventeen magazine that arbitrarily put the number at 15 back in 1989.[3]

But even the 2 to 3lbs might not even be a problem. An Ohio State University (OSU) study comparing college freshman to their non-college peers and found only a discrepancy of about half a pound, attributing most of the weight gain at the tail end of growing to adult size. The OSU study concludes, “anti-obesity efforts directed specifically at college freshmen will likely have little impact on obesity prevalence among young adults.”[4] Even ones aimed at your social weight gain?

To put it in perspective, with an in-state cost of attendance at about $27,000 and out-of-state at $42,000, these funds could have paid for 9 to 14 freshman’s first year at ASU, if not more critical research or reduce the federal deficit.[5]

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:28:00Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-announces-cut-cap-and-balance-act-2015/,"Sen. Rand Paul Announces Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2015",2015-10-16,2015,2015-10,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today announced plans to introduce the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2015 once the U.S. Senate is back in session next week. Building off of the Cut-Cap-Balance effort in 2011, this legislation would cut the 2016 deficit in half, cap spending going forward on a path to balance by 2021, and require Congress to pass a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution before raising the nation’s debt limit.

“Bold action is needed to address our nation’s debt crisis – our national debt currently stands at $18.4 trillion. We cannot keep piling debt on top of debt forever,” Sen. Paul said.

Sen. Paul also plans next week to introduce the Default Prevention Act, which prevents a default whenever the United States has reached the national debt limit and prioritizes spending as revenue comes in.

Background information and top-line points can be found below.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2015

Cuts the deficit in half this year.

$207 billion in cuts this year

Social Security, Medicare, military pay, veterans’ benefits, and interest are not subject to the additional cuts

Caps spending going forward at a balanced level of 18%.

Provides a glide path to balance at 18% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 5 years

Caps spending at 18% of GDP going forward

Balances the budget permanently through a balanced budget amendment.

No debt limit increase until Congress passes a balanced budget amendment and sends it to the states for ratification

The Default Prevention Act

Prevents a default whenever the United States has reached the national debt limit and prioritizes spending as revenue comes in.

Gives debt service, military pay, Social Security, and Medicare payments priority over other spending as revenue comes in.

Average monthly revenue is more than enough to cover these and other priorities.

Average monthly revenue is $271 billion

Average monthly spending on priority items is $158 billion per month

On average there is $113 billion per month to spend on other programs

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:28:00Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-leads-34-senators-requesting-hhs-inspector-general-investigation-planned/,Sen. Rand Paul Leads 34 Senators Requesting HHS Inspector General Investigation of Planned Parenthood Tissue Practices,2015-10-06,2015,2015-10,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) sent a letter, signed by 34 of his colleagues, to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson calling for a full audit of all fetal research supported by HHS to determine whether there have been violations of the law and how the agency verifies compliance. Originally stemming from videos showcasing the Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s potential violations of federal law, the audit would specifically examine the Department’s oversight of contractor and grantee compliance with laws governing fetal tissue research.

In July 2015, Sen. Paul joined 49 of his Senate colleagues in sending a bipartisan letter to HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell immediately following the release of footage from the Center for Medical Progress depicting Planned Parenthood executives discussing – in graphic detail – the organization’s involvement in the harvesting and sale of the organs of aborted babies. In the letter, the Senators asked HHS to conduct an internal review of the compliance of both HHS and their grantee, Planned Parenthood, with all applicable federal laws, including those prohibiting the sale of fetal tissue for profit. The response received from Sec. Burwell in August was unacceptable and makes clear that a thorough internal investigation of compliance was not conducted.

Co-signers of the letter to HHS Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson include the following: Senators Mike Rounds (R-SD), James Lankford (R-OK), Thad Cochran (R-MS), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Rob Portman (R-OH), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Tom Cotton (R-AR), John Thune (R-SD), David Perdue (R-GA), Tim Scott (R-SC), John Boozman (R-AR), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), John Barrasso (R-WY), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Mike Lee (R-UT), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Richard Burr (R-NC), Ted Cruz (R-TX), David Vitter (R-LA), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Jeff Sessions (R-AL), John Cornyn (R-TX), Roger Wicker (R-MS), James Risch (R-ID), Dan Coats (R-IN), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Steve Daines (R-MT), and Ben Sasse (R-NE).

The full text of the Senators’ letter can be found HERE or below.

LETTER TEXT:

The Honorable Daniel R. Levinson

Office of the Inspector General

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

330 Independence Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20201

Dear Inspector General Levinson:

We request that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conduct an audit of all fetal tissue research supported by HHS, specifically examining the Department’s oversight of contractor and grantee compliance with the laws governing fetal tissue research.

Research involving human fetal tissue is primarily regulated by the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 (NIH Act), the Health Research Extension Act, and the National Organ Transplant Act, 42 USC Sec. 289g-2. Federal laws make it unlawful to knowingly acquire, receive, or accept a donation of human fetal tissue for valuable consideration.

The Planned Parenthood videos recently released by the Center for Medical Progress raise serious concerns about potential violations of federal law prohibiting the transfer of fetal tissue for valuable consideration. The videos not only raise questions about Planned Parenthood’s compliance with applicable laws and regulations, but also highlight potentially significant problems with HHS’s oversight of practices in this market in general.

Our request to you follows receipt of an unacceptable response from the Department on August 14, 2015, which failed to address many of the substantive questions raised in the July 22, 2015 inquiry to HHS (both letters attached). The Department does not appear to have conducted any internal investigation of their own research practices or any audits or other oversight of their contractors, suppliers, and grantees with regard to their compliance with fetal tissue research laws and instead relied on assertions of compliance.

We request your assistance in answering questions that the Department did not answer, within the limits of your jurisdiction, including:

The attached letter from HHS dated August 14, 2015 states that NIH and FDA currently conduct and fund research involving fetal tissue samples. According to the letter, NIH and FDA obtain tissue samples from “non-profit organizations that have provided assurances to [HHS] that they are in compliance with all applicable legal requirements,” and the third parties conducting research funded by FDA and NIH have certified to HHS that they are in compliance with all legal requirements, including the ban on receiving valuable consideration for fetal tissue.

Please conduct an audit to determine, for fetal tissue used in connection with projects funded or conducted by HHS, what these third party entities have paid for fetal tissue, how prices are set, and how they determine whether they are in compliance with 42 USC Sec. 289g-2.

How does HHS verify third-party entities’ certifications and/or assurances regarding compliance with 42 USC Sec. 289g-2? What kind of certifications and assurances do NIH and FDA obtain (i.e. who signs them, how often they are received, are they in writing, etc.)?

HHS’ August 14, 2015, letter states that it also requires these third-party funding recipients to “be able to demonstrate their compliance with applicable legal requirements.” With respect to compliance with 42 USC Sec. 289g-2, what does HHS require to demonstrate compliance? How often (if ever) has HHS invoked this requirement and asked a funding recipient to demonstrate compliance? Has HHS ever terminated an award based on noncompliance with 42 USC Sec. 289g-2?

Do NIH and FDA require any documentation to demonstrate compliance with 42 USC Sec. 289g-2, and if so, what documentation?

HHS’ August 14, 2015, letter states that HHS has not funded or conducted research on the transplantation of human fetal tissue “in recent years” and currently knows “of no violation of [42 USC Sec. 289g-1] in connection with research done at our agencies.” However, the letter does not clearly say whether HHS knows of any violations of 42 USC Sec. 289g-1 by third parties that conducted research with HHS funding.

Does HHS have knowledge of any violations of 42 USC Sec. 289g-1 in connection with research conducted by third parties but funded by HHS?

What has HHS done for past fetal tissue transplant research (if anything) to ensure third parties conducting HHS-funded research complied with 42 USC Sec. 289g-1, including verification of grantee/contractor certifications of compliance?

When HHS conducted its own tissue transplant research in the past, what steps did it take to ensure compliance with 42 USC Sec. 289g-1, including verification of any third-party suppliers legal assurances or certifications?

Please review and respond to the remaining unanswered questions in the attached July 22, 2015, letter to Secretary Burwell and conduct any other investigation of the issues raised about Planned Parenthood, fetal tissue transplant research, or fetal tissue research of whatever scope is possible within HHS OIG’s jurisdiction.

HHS OIG has a reputation for fulfilling its mission through thorough, nonpartisan audits and investigations. We look forward to working with your office to shed light on the many serious and alarming questions raised about fetal tissue research in recent months.

Sincerely,

Sen. Rand Paul

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:28:00Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-exposes-multimillion-dollar-mulligan-international-space-station-latest-waste/,Dr. Rand Paul Exposes Multimillion-Dollar Mulligan for International Space Station in Latest ‘The Waste Report’,2015-10-05,2015,2015-10,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released the latest edition to ‘The Waste Report,’ an ongoing project cataloguing egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government. The latest edition exposes the federal government spending $15 million each year to fund the Center for Advancement of Science in Space, an organization that allows a golf club maker to do research in space.

‘The Waste Report’ can be found HERE or below.

When Allen Shepard first proposed hitting a golf ball on the moon as part of the Apollo 14 mission, NASA said it was, “far too frivolous.”[1] They eventually backed down; but like landing on the moon, the sentiment that golf in space is frivolous seems to have faded from memory. This may explain why last year, Cobra Puma Golf was able to do an experiment on the International Space Station (ISS).

So what kind of research does golf club maker do in space? According to Duane Ratliff, Director of Center for Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), “[t]his is not research on a golf club,” but rather on how certain materials behave in zero gravity.[2] However, Crobra’s website tells a different story, saying research in space is, “allowing us to create the most technologically advanced golf products in the world… technologies that will enhance the performance of all golfers.”[3] Including Astronauts?

NASA Watch, a space industry watchdog, said of the project, “CASIS would rather go golfing than do actual ISS research.” But it seems “actual research” is hard to come by. CASIS’ 2014 Annual Report shows they received only 122 proposals for research.[4] Thus, with low competition for ISS for resources, golf equipment can make the cut.

CASIS, by the way, is a non-profit that NASA selected to facilitate outside research on the ISS. For their efforts, they get a $15 million grant each year from the federal government, but as the NASA Inspector General reports, and is affirmed in CASIS annual report, “[t]o date, CASIS has raised just $14,550 in cash [from outside contributors].”[5]

This all stems from the Obama Administration’s 2010 decision to end the Space Shuttle replacement program, Constellation which cost taxpayers $9 billion but never flew. In consolation, the ISS was designated a national lab, making it available for private research, and its life was extended to 2024, the year it was supposed to be deorbited this year.[6] And, for those keeping score, NASA is asking for approximately $3 billion to fund the ISS just for the next year.[7] Meanwhile, U.S. astronauts, now accesses the ISS in seats purchased on the Russian Soyoz rocket, at a cost of as much as $70 million apiece.[8]

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:28:00Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-holds-hearing-mitigate-wasteful-end-year-federal-spending/,"Sen. Rand Paul Holds Hearing to Mitigate Wasteful, End of the Year Federal Spending",2015-09-30,2015,2015-09,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), chairman of the Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management for the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee held a hearing entitled, “Prudent Planning or Wasteful Binge? A Look at End of the Year Spending.” Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Joni Ernst (R-IA), and James Lankford (R-OK) also participated in the hearing.

During the hearing, Sen. Paul explored the phenomena of end of year federal government spending – the practice of trying to obligate all remaining funds in an agency budget before they expire at the end of the year – as well as identified possible solutions to mitigate this problem, including legislation introduced by Sen. Paul, known as the Bonus for Cost-Cutters Act.

Witnesses testifying in the hearing included: Dr. Jason J. Fichtner, Senior Research Fellow for Mercatus Center at George Mason University; Dean Sinclair, Change Advocate for Changing the Culture of Waste in the Federal Workplace; and Dr. Philip Joyce, Professor of Public Policy and Senior Associate Dean for University of Maryland School of Public Policy.

In May 2015, Sen. Paul introduced the Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act of 2015, which would empower those on the front lines of federal spending to find efficiencies and improve productivity to return value to the taxpayer in the form of deficit reduction and less government borrowing. Building on the current federal law, the Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act would allow a U.S. government agency’s inspector general to pay a bonus of up to $10,000 when a federal employee identifies surplus or unneeded funds.

For background information and top-line points on the Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act, click HERE. To read Sen. Paul’s ‘The Waste Report,’ an ongoing project highlighting egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government, click HERE

Below are Sen. Paul’s opening remarks at the committee hearing on wasteful, end of the year spending in the federal government.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH SEN. PAUL’S OPENING REMARKS AT THE COMMITTEE HEARING

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:25:19Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-floor-speech-sen-rand-paul-speaks-out-against-status-quo/,FLOOR SPEECH: Sen. Rand Paul Speaks Out Against Status Quo,2015-09-29,2015,2015-09,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul delivered the following remarks on the U.S. Senate floor today regarding his opposition to the FY2016 short-term continuing budget resolution. During the speech, Sen. Paul highlighted the need for Congress to pass appropriations bills individually and in a timely manner.

Below is video and transcript of Sen. Paul’s floor speech.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH SEN. PAUL’S REMARKS ON THE SENATE FLOOR

TRANSCRIPT

Sen. Rand Paul: Reminded of that line from “Cool-hand Luke,” what we have here is a failure to legislate. What we have here is a failure to use our leverage, a failure to use the power of the purse. Conservatives across America are unhappy and rightly so. We were told that when we took over Congress, when Republicans were elected to Congress that things would be different. That if voters put us in charge, we would right the ship. We would stop the deficits. And here we are with another continuing resolution.

What is a continuing resolution? It is a continuation of the deficit spending of the past. It is a continuation of the waste. It is a continuation of the duplication. What is a continuing resolution? It is a steaming pile of the same old same old. Let me be clear. A continuing resolution is not a good thing. It is more of the status quo. It is a warmed-over version of yesterday’s failures. It is an abdication of Congressional authority. It is an abdication of Congressional power.

Let us at least be honest. With a continuing resolution, no waste will be cut. No spending will be cut. No regulations will be stopped. And the debt will continue to mount. We are told that we cannot win, that we need 60 votes to defund anything. But perhaps there is an alternate future where courage steps up and saves the day. All spending is set to expire automatically. This is the perfect time to turn the tables. To tell the other side that they will need 60 votes to affirmatively spend any money.

You see, it doesn’t have to be 60 votes to stop things. All spending will expire, and only those programs for which we can get 60 votes should go forward. What would that mean? That would mean an elimination of waste, an elimination of duplication, an elimination of bad things that we spend money on. If we have the courage, we could use the Senate’s supermajority rules top stop wasteful spending. If we had the courage, we could force the other side to come up with 60 votes to fund things like Planned Parenthood. The budget is loaded with nonsense and waste.

Some will say our job is to govern, to preside. But to preside over what? To preside over a mountain of new debt to be the same as the other side? To continue to add debt after debt? Our debt will consume us if we continue to preside over the status quo. It is as if we’re on the titanic and just simply reshuffling the chairs. A continuing resolution continues the spending of wasteful money.

I’ll tell you of a few we spend money on – $300,000 last year studying whether or not Japanese quail are more sexually promiscuous on cocaine. These things should never have money spent on but if you do a continuing resolution it will continue. We spent several hundred thousand dollars studying whether or not we can relieve stress in Vietnamese villagers by having them watch television reruns. I don’t know about you but I don’t want one penny of these dollars going to this ridiculous stuff.

We spent $800,000 in the last couple of years developing a televised cricket league for developing Afghanistan. Do you know how many people have a television in Afghanistan? One in 10,000 people. I don’t care if they’ve all got TV’s; it’s ridiculous that our money – which we don’t have, we have to borrow it from China to send it to Afghanistan.

If you’re passing a continuing resolution, you’re agreeing to continue this nonsense. We spent $150,000 last year on yoga classes for federal employees. So not only do we pay them nearly one and a half times as much as the private sector employees, we give them yoga classes. If you pass a continuing resolution, this goes on and on. Nothing will change. The status quo will continue, and we will continue to spend ourselves into oblivion. We spent $250,000 last year inviting 24 kids from Pakistan to go to space camp in Alabama. We borrow money from China to send it to Pakistan. It’s crazy. It’s ridiculous. And it should stop.

We have the power to stop it. Congress has the power to spend money or not spend money, and yet we roll over and we say it must continue. We don’t have the votes to stop it. Nonsense. The other side doesn’t have the vote to continue the spending if we would stand up and challenge them. We spent a half million-dollar last year and the year before developing a menu for when we colonize Mars. We sent a bunch of college students to Hawaii to study this. $5,000 apiece we paid them. They got two weeks all expenses paid in Hawaii. And you know what a bunch of college kids came up with for the menu for Mars? Pizza.

This is where your money is going. I could go on, hundreds and hundreds of programs. If we do not exert the power of the purse, this continues. We should attach to all of the spending bills, all 12 individual bills not glommed together; we should attach hundreds of instructions, thousands of instructions. Some of the media said those would be riders on appropriations bills. Exactly. That’s the power of the purse.

If you object to the President writing regulations without our authority, Congress should defund the regulations. Congress should instruct him on Obamacare, what we object to. Congress should instruct him that we don’t want money spent on Planned Parenthood. Hundreds and hundreds of instructions should be written into every bill and passed and sent to them. Would we win all of these battles? Do we have the power to win every battle and defund everything we want? No. But you know what we start out with? Our negotiating position right now is we start out with we defund nothing.

Why don’t we start out with the negotiating position that we defund everything that’s objectionable, all the wasteful spending, all the duplicative spending, let’s defund it all and if there has to be negotiation let’s start from defunding it all and see where we get. But it would take courage because you have to let spending expire. If you’re not willing to let the spending expire and start anew, you have no leverage.

The power of the purse is only there if you have courage. You must courage of convictions to say enough is enough, that the debt is a greater threat to us than letting spending expire. Now some will report on this speech and say, “oh, he wants to shut down government.” No, I don’t. I just want to exert the power of the purse, and that means spending must expire. But I’m all for renewing the spending, but let’s only renew the spending that makes sense.

We have the power of the purse if we choose to exert it. Look at the mountain of debt. Look at the debt that continues to be added up. We have not been doing our job. The way we are supposed to spend money in Congress is 12 individual appropriations bills. They’ve passed out of committee. Why aren’t they presented on the floor? The Democrats have filibustered the only one presented. Let’s present every one of them and let the public know, let everyone in America know that it’s Democrats filibustering the spend bills.

It’s Democrats who desire to shut down government. It’s Democrats who desire not to have any restrictions on where the money’s spent. It’s the Democrats who are saying we don’t want to end wasteful spending. We don’t want to end any spending. We don’t want any controls over spending. We want to continue the status quo. But we should not be complicit with them.

We have allowed this to go on for too long. It threatens the very heart of the republic. It threatens our very foundations to continue to borrow $1 million a minute. It’s time that we stood up. It is time that we took a stand and said enough is enough. When’s the last time we did it in the appropriate fashion? When is the last time Congress passed each of the individual appropriations bills with instructions on how to spend the money? It was 2005, a decade ago. It’s been a decade.

In the last decade we’ve added nearly $10 trillion in new debt. Many it’s time to take a stand. I for one have had enough. I’ve had enough. I’m not going to vote for a continuing resolution. A continuing resolution is simply a continuation of the mounting debt. I for one will not do it. A continuing resolution is retreat. It is announcing your defeat in advance. What we should do is take a stand. We should say to the other side in the Senate it requires a supermajority.

What does that mean? 60 votes to pass spending. What would happen? You would have spending that is controversial, like Planned Parenthood, would fall away. They can ask for private donations. Good luck on that. You wouldn’t find things being funded that are controversial. What would happen is there would no longer be spending for wasteful and duplicative projects. We listed these a couple of years ago. I think we had $7 billion worth of duplication. Did we fix it? No. Every year the President, even this President puts forward $10 billion, $15 billion, and $20 billion worth of programs that could be eliminated. Do they get eliminated? No, because Congress is dysfunctional and we continue to pass a continuing resolution, which means we do not to exert the power of the purse.

Congress is a shadow of what it once was. Madison said that we would have coequal branches and that we would pit ambition against ambition. We no longer do that. Congress is a withering shadow. It’s a shadow of what it once was. Congress has no power, exerts no power, and we walk and we live in the shadow of a presidency that is growing larger and larger and larger.

The President’s not afraid. He says he’s got his pen and his phone. So he is writing and creating law. One of the philosophers they look to is Montesquieu, and Montesquieu said when the Executive begins to legislate, a form of tyranny will ensue. That’s what we’ve got now. We have Executive tyranny. Not just this President, though. It’s been going on for a while. Probably for 100 years we’ve been allowing more and more power to accumulate in the hands of the presidency.

What we need is a bipartisan taking back of that power. We need Congress to stand up on its own two feet and say enough is enough. We are reclaiming the power of the purse and we are going to do whatever is necessary to get rid of the wasteful spending, the duplicative spending, and the offensive spending. And we are going to do what the American people want, and that is to spend only what comes in.

But I will tell you, I for one will oppose this continuing resolution, and I recommend that everybody in America call their Congressman and say we’re tired of the mounting debt. We want you to stand up. We want you to stand up and say enough is enough. Let the funding expire and make the other side come up with 60 votes to spend the money. It’s time we took a stand. I hope we will. Thank you, Mr. President.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:25:19Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-exposes-national-park-services-100000-flower-show-latest-waste-report/,"Dr. Rand Paul Exposes the National Park Service’s $100,000 ‘Flower Show’ in Latest ‘The Waste Report’",2015-09-28,2015,2015-09,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released the latest edition to ‘The Waste Report,’ an ongoing project cataloguing egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government. The latest edition exposes the federal government spending $100,000 of taxpayer dollars on a “flower show” in Philadelphia, Pa., celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the National Park Service.

‘The Waste Report’ can be found HERE or below.

If you are a national parks enthusiast, then you probably already know that next year marks the 100th Anniversary of the National Park Service (Park Service). However, you probably did not know as part of its Centennial Celebration, the Park Service is planning to spend $100K for a “flower show” in Philadelphia, Pa., this upcoming March.[1]

The Philadelphia Flower Show is an event the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society (PHS) puts on every year going back to 1829. This year’s theme is “Explore America: 100 Years of the National Park Service,” and will span over 33-acres of the Philadelphia Convention Center, and include the NPS “Find Your Park” pavilion.[2]

While the flower show itself is a remarkable event and the nearly 200-year old PHS uses the proceeds to finance charitable activities – the question remains, why is this the Park Service’s best use of taxpayer money?

This is especially troubling considering the Park Service and their supporters have cried foul for years over the agency’s funding. The National Parks Conservation Association said earlier this year that “the current Fiscal Year 2015 funding level for national parks is vastly insufficient to bring parks back to where they were, and where they need to be—especially in advance of the 2016 Centennial.”[3]

Additionally in 2012, the Washington Post reported that the Park Service’s financial situation has caused the Blue Ridge Parkway to be “…unable to fill 75 vacant positions since 2003” and “[f]or the past three years, New Mexico’s Bandelier National Monument has lacked the money to hire a specialist to protect its archaeological ruins and resources.”[4]

While some of our national parks are facing staffing shortfalls, the Park Service included in its grant notice that it would “provide one full-time staff member as a point of contact to [PHS] for the duration of the project,” as well as provide staffing at the Park Service pavilion when the flower show takes place in March.[5] It is just a little hard to swallow that on one hand there are cries of a lack of funds and personnel at parks, then on the other you hear money and staff can be found for a flower show.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:25:19Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-votes-against-continuing-resolution/,Sen. Rand Paul Votes Against Continuing Resolution,2015-09-25,2015,2015-09,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul issued the following statement today after voting against the FY2016 short-term continuing budget resolution brought before the U.S. Senate:

“Since coming to Washington, I have voted against every spending bill that continues to add to our nation’s mountain of debt. Spending at the levels in this bill will add $400 billion more new debt this year. Time and time again, the President and Congress fail to do one of their most basic jobs, which is to review and adjust federal spending and fund the government. While I support all efforts to stop federal funding of Planned Parenthood, this bill is a clear representation of business as usual in Washington – too much spending and too much debt. The American people deserve better,” Sen. Paul said.

In July 2015, Sen. Paul began leading the fight to eliminate taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and was a lead cosponsor of S.1881, a bill to defund the organization, which was voted on earlier this year. Additionally, Sen. Paul urged Senate leadership to strip Planned Parenthood funding language from the continuing resolution, and hold a separate vote.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:25:19Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-exposes-dod-spending-218000-taxpayer-dollars-surgically-sterilize-feral-coyotes/,"Dr. Rand Paul Exposes DOD Spending $218,000 Taxpayer Dollars to Surgically Sterilize Feral Coyotes and Invasive Burros in Latest ‘The Waste Report’",2015-09-22,2015,2015-09,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released the latest edition to ‘The Waste Report,’ an ongoing project cataloging egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government. The latest edition uncovers $218,000 of taxpayer funds spent by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to deal with the invasive feral burros and coyote population at Fort Irwin, Calif., by sterilizing and/or relocating the animals to a separate location.

‘The Waste Report’ can be found HERE or below.

Have you ever left the lid off the garbage can only to find animals got into it the next morning? With trash strewn across the yard, you dialed an exterminator to immediately come out and deal with the pesky critters. Not likely. Instead you became vigilant about keeping the can closed.

Well, the U.S. Department of Defense DOES call the exterminator, or something like it, to deal with the invasive feral burro and coyote population at Fort Irwin, Calif., which costs taxpayers $218,000.[1]

But why is this a new problem for a base that has been in continuous operation for over 60 years?[2] Well, it appears that the coyotes and burros are attracted by humans, on-base, who either feed the animals directly or leave food and trash in the open. The base’s lead wildlife biologist Liana Aker advised in an article just last year, “First, don’t ever feed coyotes [which are often sick with mange]…People feeling sorry for and feeding them is probably our biggest problem here.”[3] Perhaps a cheaper alternative would be for people station at Fort Irwin to stop feeding the animals.

The grant to nearby, as in almost 800 miles away, New Mexico State University (NMSU) calls for such things as, “[e]xamine the effectiveness of various medical procedures (chemical sterilants, surgical sterilization, etc.) to reduce reproduction and recruitment of juvenile animals in the burro population.”[4]

Being that this grant is just for a study, we can assume more spending will follow based on NMSU’s recommendations. And, this is not the first time dealing with the local animal population has cost the taxpayer. Earlier efforts have included a 2009 relocation of about 100 wild burros[5] and a recently revived effort to relocate desert tortoises.[6]

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:25:19Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-highlights-government-funded-yoga-classes-federal-agencies-latest-waste-report/,Dr. Rand Paul Highlights Government-Funded Yoga Classes for Federal Agencies in Latest ‘The Waste Report’,2015-09-14,2015,2015-09,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released the latest edition to ‘The Waste Report,’ an ongoing project cataloguing egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government. The latest edition highlights the federal government spending $150,000 of taxpayer dollars to provide free yoga classes for employees at a variety of federal agencies.

‘The Waste Report’ can be found HERE or below.

Maybe you saw a Groupon for yoga classes and considered it, but even at a discount you were not sure you wanted to spend the money.

Well if you were an employee at certain federal agencies you would not have to worry about cost, because the U.S. taxpayer will pick up the tab. That’s right. A variety of federal agencies in a number of locations provide “free” yoga classes to employees. But these classes are not free – since 2013; they have cost taxpayers over $150,000.[1]

The U.S. State Department spends $15,000 for yoga in the nation’s capital. A yoga instructor from Berkeley, California, is paid $4,000 a year from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Research Service.

Of course, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), which The Waste Report highlighted trying to buy the Cadillac of treadmills earlier this year, has gotten in on taxpayer financed yoga. For $11,000 annually the DOE also offers Pilates at a California location. Another agency aligning its chakras is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The Railroad Retirement Board spends $11,000 annually for yoga classes for office workers at its Chicago headquarters. Strangely, they reported that participants were initially charged for the class, but in some kind of weird reversal of economic principles, there was so much demand, the agency decided to start picking up the tab in 2010.

Not all agencies that offer employees yoga at work also pay the cost; many agencies, including the U.S. Senate, require participants to pay for the class. [2]

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:25:19Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-introduces-small-business-lending-enhancement-act/,Dr. Rand Paul Introduces the Small Business Lending Enhancement Act,2015-09-10,2015,2015-09,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Rand Paul (R-KY) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today introduced the Small Business Lending Enhancement Act. This bipartisan legislation, which seeks to cut through red tape and encourage small business growth, would increase the credit union member business-lending cap for well-capitalized credit unions from 12.25% of assets to 27.5%.

The Credit Union National Association estimates the Small Business Lending Enhancement Act would allow credit unions to lend an additional $13 billion to small business therefore assisting with the creation of more than 140,000 jobs nationwide.

“The Obama administration’s onerous regulations have hurt our small businesses, credit unions, and banks. The Small Business Lending Enhancement Act will encourage small business growth and facilitate job creation for Americans across the country,” Sen. Paul said.

“Credit unions serve our communities well, often by focusing on lending to local small businesses,” said Sen. Whitehouse. “I’m pleased to join Senator Paul in introducing legislation to allow credit unions to expand their lending to help grow businesses and jobs.”

Supporters of the Small Business Lending Enhancement Act include: Credit Union National Association, National Association of Federal Credit Unions, Competitive Enterprise Institute, R Street, Americans For Tax Reform, American Consumer Institute, The Realtor’s, and Progressive Policy Institute.

“This common sense legislation would allow small businesses to grow, create jobs and boost our economy. Credit unions around the country are dedicated to helping small businesses access the capital they need to succeed, and I thank Senator Paul for his strong leadership on this issue,” said Jim Nussle, President and CEO,Credit Union National Association.

“Raising the arbitrary credit union member business lending cap is a win-win-win for small businesses, credit unions, and consumers. NAFCU applauds Senators Paul and Whitehouse for their bipartisan leadership in introducing this important legislation that would unleash additional capital and create jobs without burdening American taxpayers,” said Dan Berger, President and CEO, National Association of Federal Credit Unions.

Click HERE to read the legislation in its entirety.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:25:19Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-highlights-wasted-taxpayer-funds-nsf-study-athletes-zone-latest-waste-report/,Sen. Rand Paul Highlights Wasted Taxpayer Funds in NSF Study of ‘Athletes in the Zone’ in Latest ‘The Waste Report’,2015-09-08,2015,2015-09,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released the latest edition to ‘The Waste Report,’ which is an ongoing project cataloguing egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government. The latest edition exposes $350,000 of taxpayer funds spent by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) on a study that focuses on how an athlete’s perception influences their physical performance.

‘The Waste Report’ can be found HERE or below.

Some athletes call it “the zone,” which is the sense of being on your game – the feeling that you are on fire and you just cannot miss. Well, it appears the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) did miss when it spent $350,000 to fund a study of athletes in the zone.

That’s right. A study, originally funded in 2010 and conducted by researchers at Purdue University, looked at how perception relates to performance. The grant leads off with “[a]thletes playing well describe distortions in spatial perception: basketball hoops appear as large as hula-hoops, golf holes as big as manholes, and baseballs as big as grapefruits.”[1] The big question here: do athletes play well because they perceive baseballs to be as big as grapefruits, does the perception materialize when playing well, or is it just a false memory?

This is already sounding very similar to the NSF-funded study covered in ‘The Waste Report’ of July 14, 2015: Feeling Bad About Government Waste?, where NSF spent $175,000 to figure out how good individuals are at predicting how they will feel about decisions they make.

So what was learned in this study? In tennis, players who hit the ball out of bounds thought it came at them faster than those who hit it in play. And when playing Pong, a version of the video game Pong, the virtual ball seems to move slower when the paddle is bigger.[2]

But the most fascinating experiment (as in why are taxpayers paying for this?) related to the perception of walls in parkour. What is parkour, you ask? Well, sometimes called “free running,” parkour is an urban sport involving scaling and jumping off walls, similar to what is seen on American Ninja Warrior. And, thanks to NSF’s funding, we’ve learned that traceurs (skilled parkour athletes) see walls they may scale as shorter than novices and presumably everyone else.[3]

While a professional sports team or a trainer may find value in understanding how an athlete’s perception may influence their performance or visa-versa, Uncle Sam should leave it up to those entities to provide the funding for such projects.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:25:19Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-highlights-thousands-taxpayer-dollars-spent-premium-satellite-tv-noaa-ship-latest/,Sen. Rand Paul Highlights Thousands of Taxpayer Dollars Spent on Premium Satellite TV for NOAA Ship in Latest ‘The Waste Report’,2015-08-31,2015,2015-08,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released the latest edition to ‘The Waste Report,’ which is an ongoing project highlighting egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government. The latest edition highlights the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) spending over $40,000 of American taxpayer dollars to ensure the crew aboard the NOAA Ship Fairweather has 300 channels of premium satellite TV while at sea.

‘The Waste Report’ can be found HERE or below.

Imagine you were going to miss your favorite TV show or a critical sporting event because you had to work. Well the crew and scientists of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ship, the Fairweather, do not have to worry about such things because the American taxpayer is spending over $40,000 to make sure they have premium satellite TV while at sea.[1]

The Fairweather is part of NOAA’s Pacific fleet, primarily charged with studying and mapping the ocean floor.[2] With a maximum duration of about three weeks between refueling, the scientists and crew can undoubtedly get homesick and even bored on the open seas. So it seems reasonable to provide some level of basic entertainment.

But there is no basic cable or satellite here. The Fairweather’s package has over 300 TV and music channels, including premium sports channels such as: the PAC-12 and Big Ten Networks, NFL, NHL, MLB Networks, and NBA TV.[3] In fact, only the Dish Network’s, winner of this contract, highest-end package offers such a line up.[4]

Nielson reported last year that the average American home has 189 channels or about one-third less than are available on the Fairweather. Interesting enough, Nielson also shows that American households consistently only watch about 17 channels no matter how many are available.[5] But when it is on Uncle Sam’s dime go-ahead load it up, someone onboard might want to watch Rural TV, which is part of the package. And load it up is just what NOAA did, with 44 satellite receivers so that everyone aboard has personal access to this viewing smorgasbord.[6]

By comparison, members of United States Navy only get three TV (News, Sports, and a variety channel) and three music channels on ship, all run by Armed Forces Networks.[7] Why not NOAA style satellite TV on Naval ships? As one source told the Federal Spending Oversight Subcommittee, “we need that bandwidth to do our jobs.”

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:23:36Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-exposes-taxpayer-dollars-used-send-popular-american-band-perform-foreign-jazz/,Sen. Rand Paul Exposes Taxpayer Dollars Used to Send Popular American Band to Perform in Foreign Jazz Festival in Latest ‘The Waste Report’,2015-08-24,2015,2015-08,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released the latest edition to ‘The Waste Report,’ which is an ongoing project highlighting egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government.

The latest edition exposes the U.S. State Department spending nearly $50,000 taxpayer dollars for the Soul Rebels, a New Orleans-based jazz band, to travel to Turkey and perform at the 22nd Istanbul Jazz Festival.

‘The Waste Report’ can be found HERE or below.

From Duke Ellington to Tony Bennett, jazz is a part of the American soul. One group taking the genre to new levels is the New Orleans-based Soul Rebels. The Village Voice said of the group, “[t]he hip-hop-inflected eight-piece Soul Rebels are arguably the most dynamically au courant of the city’s many fine brass bands.”[1]

Have not had a chance to take in one of their concerts? Well, you’ve paid for one of their concerts overseas. That’s right. Earlier this summer, the U.S. Department of State spent nearly $50,000 of taxpayer money to, “support the Soul Rebels to travel to Turkey to give public performances as part of the 22nd Istanbul Jazz Festival.”[2]

What is most surprising is that the Soul Rebels were already on a European tour, making taxpayer financing for the stop in Turkey unnecessary. In fact, after Turkey, the Soul Rebels went on to make stops in Belgium, France, Ireland, Norway, and met up with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga at the “North Sea Jazz Festival” in the Netherlands.[3]

The group is hardly a fledgling act needing Uncle Sam’s help. The Soul Rebels have put out six albums since 1999, including Power=Power (2013), where they incorporate their unique sound to popular songs by the likes of Bruno Mars and Nicki Minaj. That is not the only company they are keeping. They share a label with, Tom Jones, They Might Be Giants, and Alison Krauss.[4]

So, the question has to be asked, why does such a cutting edge, established group need Uncle Sam to pay for the band to play at a well-established European jazz festival?",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:23:36Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-calls-out-fema-spending-50-million-duplicative-disaster-payments-latest-waste/,Sen. Rand Paul Calls out FEMA For Spending $50 Million on Duplicative Disaster Payments In Latest The Waste Report,2015-08-17,2015,2015-08,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released the latest edition to ‘The Waste Report,’ which is an ongoing project highlighting egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government. The latest edition reveals $50 million wasted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on duplicative disaster payments to remediate damage when the cost had already been covered and paid by outside insurance companies.

‘The Waste Report’ can be found HERE or below.

Paying for something twice is one of those things that give you a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach. When it comes to disaster recovery, Uncle Sam often unnecessarily pays twice, costing taxpayers over $50 million in the process.

According to more than 30 U.S. Department of Homeland Security Inspector General reports, from just the last five years, taxpayers have spent at least $35.5 million remediating disaster damage also paid for by outside insurance.

For example, following Hurricane Sandy, Seaside Heights, N.J., billed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) over $45,000 for vehicle repairs that were also covered by the city’s insurance policy.[1] Palm Beach County or municipalities therein, claimed $622,596[2] for a variety of projects also paid for by insurance, including $20,581 for repairs to a golf course.[3]

But that’s not all, the Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight (FSO) also found another $17.7 million in double payments for disaster recovery reported by the Inspector General in just in the last five years.

One example included the Port of Tillamook Bay, Ore., billing FEMA twice for the same debris-removal totaling a whopping $1.4 million overcharge.

What makes this case interesting and shocking is the double billing was caused by Tillamook’s alternative use project. What is an alternative use project? Well, storms damaged a little-used rail line that Tillamook decided was not needed anyway. So, FEMA gave them $44.6 million (90% of the cost to repair the actual storm damage) to be used for an alternative environmental project (which only in part included flood mitigation) in the Tillamook watershed. Unfortunately, Tillamook billed FEMA for the debris removal under both its traditional disaster recovery award and the alternative environmental project.[4]

In a disaster, it is understandable that quick action is needed and some things fall through the cracks. However, with longer-term projects, particularly those not actually mitigating disaster damage or lower priority projects like golf course reconstruction, it should not be that hard to figure out if something is covered by insurance or already paid for.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:23:36Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-speaks-veterans-issues-highlights-kentuckian-services-veterans-event-bowling/,"Sen. Rand Paul Speaks on Veterans Issues, Highlights Kentuckian Services at Veterans Event in Bowling Green",2015-08-11,2015,2015-08,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"BOWLING GREEN, KY. – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Rand Paul attended a Veterans Open House at the American Legion in Bowling Green, Ky. At the event, Sen. Paul spoke about the many issues facing our nation’s veterans and had the opportunity to meet face to face with several Kentuckians his office has personally helped.

He also highlighted his Senate office’s constituent services staff and urged the veterans to get in touch with them to initiate assistance. Bobette Franklin, Director of Constituent Services, and Alexandra Baston, Constituent Service Representative, were on-site during the meeting and stayed afterwards to discuss specific casework needs with individuals.

“Before I came to Bowling Green to start my medical practice, I worked in three different veterans hospitals, so I am acutely aware of the challenges faced by those in the VA system. It is important for me to not only listen to the stories and concerns of these veterans, but also connect face to face with the Kentuckians whose compelling stories I have heard and for whom we have successfully advocated,” Sen. Paul said.

No related posts.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:23:36Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-exposes-250k-taxpayer-funded-trip-space-camp-dollywood-foreign-kids-latest/,Sen. Rand Paul Exposes $250K Taxpayer Funded Trip to Space Camp & Dollywood for Foreign Kids in Latest ‘The Waste Report’,2015-08-10,2015,2015-08,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released the latest edition to ‘The Waste Report,’ an ongoing project highlighting egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government. The latest edition uncovers the U.S. State Department financing a $250,000 trip for 24 Pakistani kids to visit Space Camp and the Dollywood amusement park in the U.S., for the sole purpose of learning English.

‘The Waste Report’ can be found HERE or below.

If you were a kid in the ’80s, you probably dreamed of going to Space Camp, especially if you saw the movie. Well, if you have about $1,000 and can get yourself to Huntsville, Ala., you too can go to Space Camp. That is unless you are a kid in Pakistan, because if you are, Uncle Sam will send you to Space Camp on the taxpayer’s dime, to the tune of $250,000.[1]

That’s right, last March the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad put out a grant opportunity to send 24 Pakistani students to 6 days of Space Camp in Alabama. Why is the federal taxpayer financing a trip around the world for Pakistani kids to play astronaut? Well, “to promote the development of English language, social, and analytical skills of the participants, through first-hand experiences in science and technology.”[2] With seven Space Camps around the world, including Italy and Japan, the State Department might be on to something bigger than Rosetta Stone and Facebook combined.

Space Camp to learn English? By that standard doing almost anything in an English speaking country like the U.S. must qualify. Why not a trip to an amusement park? Well, actually…after splash down in Huntsville, the grant calls for the group to head out on a nearly 700 mile bus trip bound for Washington D.C., which includes a day’s visit, (perhaps from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) at the Pigeon Forge, Tenn., amusement park, Dollywood, named for country music legend Dolly Parton.[3]

And while NASA’s FY 2016 Budget request includes $94 million for education, there is no mention of using that money to send American kids to Space Camp, which itself is not federally financed.[4] In fact, Space Camp is a luxury even for kids in Huntsville, where the Elks Club takes up the effort to annually send a different fifth grade class to the camp.[5] Perhaps if kids in Alabama were learning Japanese, the State Department would send them to Space Camp-Japan, maybe with a stop off at Tokyo-Disneyland.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:23:36Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-introduces-amendment-stop-sanctuary-cities-harboring-criminal-illegal-aliens/,Sen. Rand Paul Introduces Amendment to Stop “Sanctuary Cities” from Harboring Criminal Illegal Aliens,2015-08-04,2015,2015-08,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today introduced his Protecting American Citizens Together Act (PACT Act) as an amendment to S.754, the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act. The amendment would prevent “sanctuary cities” from harboring dangerous criminal aliens by requiring state and local law enforcement to notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following the arrest of an illegal immigrant, and detain an illegal immigrant if requested to do so by ICE.

Additionally, if the Bureau of Prisons receives a request from ICE to transfer an illegal immigrant to their custody, that request will take priority over the request from state and local agencies. Under this legislation, localities will be required to follow the new requirements as a condition of receiving federal law enforcement grants.

“Our nation now has whole cities and states who stand up and willingly defy federal immigration laws in order to protect illegal immigrants who have broken our nation’s laws. This must end and it must end now. My amendment makes it clear, the American people will not stand for cities harboring violent criminals,” Sen. Paul said.

In July 2015, Sen. Paul introduced the PACT Act, S.1764, as a stand-alone bill. Click HERE to read the legislation in its entirety.

No related posts.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:23:36Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-introduces-amendments-cybersecurity-bil/,Sen. Rand Paul Introduces Amendments to Cybersecurity Bil,2015-08-04,2015,2015-08,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today introduced the following amendments to S.754, the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act currently being considered by the U.S. Senate. The amendments are outlined in detail below.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON SEN. PAUL’S AMENDMENTS TO CYBERSECURITY BILL

Clarifies Whistleblower Protection

Adds rule of construction indicating that the Act does not prohibit or limit disclosure of whistleblower information to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB).

Clarifies that whistleblowers (agency and contractor) with knowledge of FISA programs may lodge complaints with Government Accountability Office (GAO), PCLOB, Congressional Intelligence Committees, or through internal channels. Prohibits professional retaliation against whistleblowers.

Protection of Existing Privacy Law

Clarifies that nothing in this Act shall supersede any provision of law as it relates to the retention by a Federal entity of personal information or identifying a specific United States person.

Prevents liability immunity granted under the act from being used by companies to break privacy agreements with their customers

CISA authorizes sweeping Internet monitoring of, and nearly unlimited sharing of information about, Internet users with the federal government, while companies are immune from lawsuits for taking these actions under this legislation.

Amendment #2564, filed by Sen. Paul, would establish a simple protection for Internet users by clarifying that no company would be immune from making false promises to their customers.

Congress should not make it possible for companies to monitor their customers’ Internet activities and transfer their data to the government while assuring the same customers that they do neither. Instead, Congress should promote accountability to private entities providing Internet services; advance transparency on information sharing conducted by those companies; and empowers Internet users to protect their own privacy.

End warrantless backdoor searches of Americans’ communications under Sec. 702

Closes the “backdoor search” loophole that enables warrantless searches for information on Americans contained in phone records and emails collected under Sec. 702 of FISA.

Protect the privacy of Americans’ records held by third parties

Establishes a clear principle consistent with the Fourth Amendment that, as it relates to government collection, an individual’s records given to a third party for a specific business purpose are equally secure in their person as those that remain in their possession, unless that third party informs the individual that it intends to share the record.

This affirms that the government cannot circumvent warrant requirements by taking Americans’ records from third parties, and protects constitutional rights during engagement in regular communication and commerce.

Prohibit mandates on companies that they alter their products to enable government surveillance

Prohibits the government from issuing mandates to force the intentional alteration of security features.

Prevents the government from compelling companies to deliberately weaken the encryption security of their products and services so that the government can directly access communications and data.

Reports on Americans Surveilled Under this Act

Modification of biennial report requirement to include additional transparency relating to number of United States persons subjected to monitoring and who personal information has been shared with the government.

Agency Sharing

Requires federal entities to remove personal information from cyber threat indicators before sharing such cyber thread indicators with other federal entities.

Prohibits the government from accessing collection of content without a warrant

Prohibits federal government access to and the collection of the content of communications of Americans without first obtaining a court approval.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:23:36Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-introduces-audit-fed-amendment-cybersecurity-bill/,Sen. Rand Paul Introduces “Audit the Fed” Amendment to Cybersecurity Bill,2015-08-04,2015,2015-08,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today introduced his Federal Reserve Transparency Act as an amendment to the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act, S. 754, currently being considered by the U.S. Senate. Widely known as “Audit the Fed,” the amendment seeks to eliminate restrictions on Government Accountability Office (GAO) audits of the Federal Reserve (Fed) and mandates that the Federal Reserve’s credit facilities, securities purchases, and quantitative easing activities be subject to Congressional oversight.

“A complete and thorough audit of the Fed will finally allow the American people to know exactly how their money is being spent by Washington. The Fed currently operates under a cloak of secrecy and it has gone on for too long. The American people have a right to know what the Federal Reserve is doing with our nation’s money supply, and the time to act is now,” Sen. Paul said.

Click HERE to read Sen. Paul’s legislation.

No related posts.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:23:36Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-introduces-service-members-self-defense-act-amendment-cybersecurity-bill/,Sen. Rand Paul Introduces “Service Members Self Defense Act” Amendment to Cybersecurity Bill,2015-08-04,2015,2015-08,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today introduced an amendment, which would amend permit members of the armed forces to possess firearms on military installations in accordance with applicable state and local law, to the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (S.754). Similarly, Sen. Paul introduced S.1839, the Service Members Self Defense Act of 2015, as a stand-alone bill earlier this year.

“I find it ridiculous that the brave men and women serving in our armed forces are asked to defend us overseas but cannot protect themselves once they return home. My amendment ensures that our honorable service members are allowed to protect themselves while serving our nation at home,” Sen. Paul said.

Click HERE to read legislation in its entirety.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE AMENDMENT:

Requires the Secretary of Defense to amend U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Directive 5210.56, within 30 days, to allow members of the armed forces to possess firearms for defensive purposes.

Clarifies the carrying of a concealed weapon by a member of the armed forces, on DOD property, is not a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice or 18 USC 930 – Possession of firearms and dangerous weapons in federal facilities.

Allowing for the carrying of a concealed weapon by qualified members of the armed forces, with national reciprocity, in accordance with state and local law.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:23:36Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-highlights-lausd-reallocating-funds-national-school-lunch-program-feed-lawns-not/,"Sen. Rand Paul Highlights LAUSD Reallocating Funds from National School Lunch Program to Feed Lawns, Not Children in Latest ‘The Waste Report’",2015-08-03,2015,2015-08,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released the latest edition to ‘The Waste Report,’ an ongoing project highlighting egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government. The latest edition highlights the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) reallocating more than $158 million of federal funds from the National School Lunch Program to pay for a new lawn sprinkler system and salaries at the district’s local television station.

‘The Waste Report’ can be found HERE or below.

According to the California Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes (CSOOO), over a six-year period, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) diverted more than $158 million of National School Lunch Program funding to other uses including: buying lawn sprinklers and paying the salaries at the district’s television station.[1]

One tactic used was to reduce lunch periods to as little as 20 minutes in some schools, so students, whose lunch was already paid for with federal funds, would be unable to receive food.[2]

But this did not stop LAUSD from crying foul about school lunch funding. In January 2009, while funds were being misappropriated, a LAUSD press release carried the headline, “cafeteria fund cash flow may leave neediest LAUSD students hungry,” advocating for increased funds. The release notes that, “Superintendent Cortines has directed a comprehensive legislative and media initiative to ensure state decision makers and the public understand the consequences of a compromised meal program would have on our students ability to learn.”[3]

The 2013 CSOOO report found several other California districts mismanaged or illegally re-appropriated the National Federal School Lunch funds, and implied it was a general practice. What should concern federal taxpayers is that once the money is in state hands, the state is responsible for oversight. In the case of California, the average state auditor is keeping tabs on (or trying to) federal (and state) funds going to a whopping 51 school districts. At approximately $2 billion annually, California is the largest recipient of federal funds from the National School Lunch Program.[4]

Unfortunately, upon assuming office late last year, California Senate President, Keven de Leon, who represents portions of Los Angeles, discontinued CSOOO.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:23:36Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-urges-support-bill-defund-planned-parenthood/,Sen. Rand Paul Urges Support for Bill to Defund Planned Parenthood,2015-08-03,2015,2015-08,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor today urging his colleagues to support S.1881. This legislation would eliminate taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, while at the same time protect and preserve federal funding of women’s health services provided by other eligible entities.

In July 2015, Sen. Paul introduced similar language to defund Planned Parenthood as both a stand-alone bill and an amendment to H.R.22, the Senate vehicle for the highway bill. Sen. Paul has repeatedly asked the Senate to hold a vote on both measures.

A vote to take up the legislation required 60 votes for passage and failed, 53-46.

Below is the video and transcript of Sen. Paul’s floor speech.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH SEN. PAUL’S FLOOR SPEECH

TRANSCRIPT:

Sen. Paul: There comes a time in the history of nations when a civilized people must stand up and decide whether or not life is important, whether or not life is something special, and whether or not there’s maybe something greater than just us that has to do with life.

It sickens me to me what’s been going on with Planned Parenthood. Some of my first memories of my children were the ultrasound that I saw before they were born. We still keep those. We now find out, though, that this technology that can do wonders, that can save babies, you can perform surgery now in the uterus and the baby can survive, these same techniques that are being used by Planned Parenthood to manipulate the baby into a position to harvest the baby’s organs.

I think all America should be sickened by this, but it should also trouble us if we are a society that’s not sickened by this. And I think the time has come to have a full-throated debate about this, and the time has come to end all taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood. Some will say, well, where will people get their health? We have 9,000 community health centers and 700 Planned Parenthood clinics. Difference is abortion. In fact, you can get many things at a community health center you can’t get at Planned Parenthood.

But the only thing you get at Planned Parenthood that you can’t get anywhere else is abortion. This debate isn’t just about abortion. This debate is about little babies who haven’t given their consent. It’s about time we had a debate in our country about this, and it’s about time we said enough is enough.

The question is, can a civilization long endure that doesn’t respect life? Do we lose everything else about what makes us human if we’re unwilling to protect life? Can we stand up and defend our other rights if we’re not willing to stand up and defend the most basic of rights? So I come here today to ask my fellow senators to vote to defund Planned Parenthood, and I hope they will.

Thank you, Mr. President.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:23:36Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-us-conference-catholic-bishops-urges-support-sen-rand-pauls-efforts-defund-planned-parenthood/,U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Urges Support for Sen. Rand Paul’s Efforts to Defund Planned Parenthood,2015-08-03,2015,2015-08,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops released the following letter today urging support for legislation, S.1881, to eliminate taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

The text of the letter can be found HERE or below:

LETTER TEXT:

August 3, 2015

Dear Senator:

I am writing to ask your support for S.1881, to withhold federal funds from the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its affiliates.

It has long been troubling to many Americans that the nation’s largest abortion network, performing over a third of all abortions, receives over half a billion taxpayer dollars a year. This concern has rightly grown in recent years.

The most recent revelations about Planned Parenthood’s willingness to traffic in fetal tissue from abortions, and to alter abortion methods not for any reason related to women’s health but to obtain more “intact” organs, is the latest demonstration of a callousness toward women and their unborn children that is shocking to many Americans.

The Catholic Church comes to this issue from a perspective rooted in experience. Catholic charitable agencies and pregnancy help centers have helped countless pregnant women find life-affirming alternatives to abortion. Our hospitals and other health facilities are second to none in providing quality health care for women.

We support the legislative proposal to reallocate federal funding, so that women can obtain their health care from providers that do not promote abortion. It is my sincere hope that you will be able to help advance this goal by supporting S.1881.

Sincerely,

Seán Cardinal O’Malley

Archbishop of Boston

Chairman

Committee on Pro-Life Activities

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:23:36Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-sens-joni-ernst-james-lankford-introduce-legislation-defunding-planned-parenthood/,"Dr. Rand Paul, Sens. Joni Ernst & James Lankford Introduce Legislation Defunding Planned Parenthood",2015-07-29,2015,2015-07,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last night, U.S. Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Joni Ernst (R-IA), and James Lankford (R-OK), along with 21 of their Senate colleagues, introduced legislation, S.1881, to prohibit federal funding of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. This legislation prohibits federal dollars going to Planned Parenthood, while at the same time protecting and preserving federal funding of women’s health services provided by other eligible entities.

This action comes after Sen. Paul’s calls for the Senate to hold a vote on a measure to defund Planned Parenthood before the August recess. Earlier this month, Sen. Paul introduced legislation to defund Planned Parenthood as a stand-alone bill and as an amendment to, H.R. 22, the vehicle for the highway bill.

“I am encouraged that the Senate will soon vote on our bill to defund Planned Parenthood. The continued disregard and disrespect for human life at Planned Parenthood is appalling to the American people and they should no longer be forced to fund this organization with their tax dollars,” Sen. Paul said.

Also last night, Sen. Paul appeared on Fox’s “Hannity” with Sean Hannity to discuss this legislation. A clip of the interview can be found HERE.

Click HERE to read the legislation in its entirety.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:20:34Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-urges-support-bill-defund-planned-parenthood-press-conference/,Dr. Rand Paul Urges Support for Bill to Defund Planned Parenthood at Press Conference,2015-07-29,2015,2015-07,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) joined Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA), James Lankford (R-OK), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), John Thune (R-SD), Tim Scott (R-SC), Deb Fischer (R-NE), and Johnny Isakson (R-GA) at a press conference today to push for the passage of S.1881. This legislation prohibits federal dollars going to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, while at the same time protecting and preserving federal funding of women’s health services provided by other eligible entities.

Earlier this month, Sen. Paul introduced similar language to defund Planned Parenthood as both a stand-alone bill and an amendment to H.R. 22, the Senate vehicle for the highway bill. In addition, he repeatedly asked the U.S. Senate to hold a vote on both measures.

Click HERE to read the legislation, S.1881, in its entirety.

Below is the video and transcript of Sen. Paul’s remarks at the press conference.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH SEN. PAUL’S PRESS CONFERENCE REMARKS

TRANSCRIPT

For many of us one of our first images we see of our children is the image on ultrasound. Many people have a framed picture of their children before they were born on ultrasound.

I think what was particularly appalling is that we see ultrasound being used to manipulate the baby into a position so they can remove the body parts and preserve liver, lung, and heart for harvesting and sale.

I think that is particularly appalling and in contrast to what most Americans would think moral and responsible.

I think it is important to know there are 9,000 community health centers across the country which do everything that Planned Parenthood does except for abortion.

There is absolutely no need for public funding of Planned Parenthood. There’s no excuse for it and we should end all funding for Planned Parenthood.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:20:34Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-applauds-house-passage-reins-act/,Dr. Rand Paul Applauds House Passage of REINS Act,2015-07-28,2015,2015-07,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) today applauded the U.S. House of Representatives for passing Rep. Todd Young’s (R-IN) H.R. 427, the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act. The REINS Act, introduced by Sen. Paul in the U.S. Senate earlier this year, would require any executive branch rule or regulation with an annual economic impact of $100 million or more to be voted on by Congress before being enacted.

“The House passage of the REINS Act today signals there is continued momentum and support for an accountable federal regulatory process. I commend Rep. Todd Young and the House of Representatives for taking this important step in making the regulatory state accountable to the American people. Additionally, I renew my commitment to work to get a vote on the REINS Act in the U.S. Senate,” Sen. Paul said.

Click HERE to read the REINS Act in its entirety.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:20:34Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-highlights-millionaires-living-public-housing-latest-waste-report/,Dr. Rand Paul Highlights Millionaires Living in Public Housing in Latest ‘The Waste Report’,2015-07-27,2015,2015-07,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released the latest edition to ‘The Waste Report,’ which is an ongoing project cataloging egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government. The latest edition highlights the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) spending $104 million annually to subsidize public housing for individuals who no longer qualify for low-income housing.

‘The Waste Report’ can be found HERE or below.

The premise of the “social safety net” is to help people in need while they get back on their feet. And, just like a net that catches you when you fall, once you begin to climb again, you leave the net behind.

So, why is the federal government spending $104 million a year subsidizing public housing for people who are no longer low-income? According to a Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Inspector General’s (IG) report, someone only needs to qualify as low-income once—when they first enter the program—and after that they can make as much money as they want without having to leave taxpayer-subsidized housing. [1]

The IG’s report found over 25,000 cases of people receiving benefits. Shockingly, in almost all cases the income threshold had been exceeded for more than one year. Keep in mind that people receiving government financed housing vouchers to rent properties on the open market are supposed to be cut off when their income exceeds the limit for 180 days.[2]

Even those in the wealthiest 1 % are in on the deal.[3] In New York, one family of four was making nearly $500k a year and owned property that generated about $150k a year, in additional rental income. A single tenant in rural Nebraska made double the maximum income threshold and had $1.6 million in assets, including $470k in real estate, yet only paid $300 a month in rent to the housing authority.[4] In both cases the tenant had not met the low-income standard in more than 5 years.

Oddly, this is not the result of a scam or a loophole. According to the IG report, “HUD repeatedly objected to our audit on the grounds that the governing statute and regulations require that public housing authorities not deter overincome [sic] families from residing in public housing.” [5]

So why even have an income threshold? Well, the IG put it best: “the public housing program was created to provide affordable housing to eligible low-income families…” And with almost 600,000 people on waiting lists, the IG quite rightly said, “HUD did not assist as many low-income families in need of housing as it could have.”[6]",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:20:34Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-introduces-bill-end-taxpayer-funding-planned-parenthood/,Dr. Rand Paul Introduces Bill to End Taxpayer Funding of Planned Parenthood,2015-07-24,2015,2015-07,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today introduced legislation, S.1861, which would eliminate nearly $500 million of taxpayer funding each year to Planned Parenthood. Earlier this week, Sen. Paul introduced the bill as an amendment to H.R. 22, the vehicle for the highway bill.

“The continued disregard and disrespect for human life at Planned Parenthood, a partially taxpayer-funded organization, is shocking and appalling. Recent video revelations, involving potentially criminal activity, make it more obvious than ever that this organization has absolutely zero respect for the sanctity of human life and is an affront to the most basic human dignity enshrined in our founding documents. Not one more taxpayer dollar should go to Planned Parenthood and I intend to make that goal a reality,” Sen. Paul said.

Click HERE to read the legislation in its entirety.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:20:34Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-introduces-service-members-self-defense-act-2015/,Dr. Rand Paul Introduces the Service Members Self Defense Act of 2015,2015-07-23,2015,2015-07,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul yesterday introduced S. 1839, the Service Members Self Defense Act of 2015. This legislation was offered as a stand-alone bill and as an amendment to H.R. 22, the vehicle for the highway bill. This legislation would amend permit members of the armed forces to possess firearms on military installations in accordance with applicable state and local law.

“I find it ridiculous that the brave men and women serving in our armed forces are asked to defend us overseas but cannot protect themselves once they return home. My bill ensures that our honorable service members are allowed to protect themselves while serving our nation at home,” Sen. Paul said.

Click HERE to read the Service Members Self Defense Act in its entirety.

Background Information on the Service Members Self Defense Act:

· Requires the Secretary of Defense to amend U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Directive 5210.56, within 30 days, to allow members of the armed forces to possess firearms for defensive purposes.

· Clarifies the carrying of a concealed weapon by a member of the armed forces, on DOD property, is not a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice or 18 USC 930 – Possession of firearms and dangerous weapons in federal facilities.

· Allowing for the carrying of a concealed weapon by qualified members of the armed forces, with national reciprocity, in accordance with state and local law.

No related posts.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:20:34Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-questions-secretary-kerry-obama-administrations-iran-nuclear-agreement/,Dr. Rand Paul Questions Secretary Kerry on Obama Administration’s Iran Nuclear Agreement,2015-07-23,2015,2015-07,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today attended the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing to question Secretary of State John Kerry on the Iran nuclear agreement reached by the Obama administration. A video of the exchange can be found below.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH SEN. PAUL’S REMARKS

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:20:34Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-introduces-amendment-end-taxpayer-funding-planned-parenthood/,Dr. Rand Paul Introduces Amendment to End Taxpayer Funding of Planned Parenthood,2015-07-22,2015,2015-07,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today introduced an amendment to H.R. 22, the vehicle for the highway bill, which would eliminate nearly $500 million of taxpayer funding each year to Planned Parenthood.

“The continued disregard and disrespect for human life at Planned Parenthood, a partially taxpayer-funded organization, is shocking and appalling. Recent video revelations, involving potentially criminal activity, make it more obvious than ever that this organization has absolutely zero respect for the sanctity of human life and is an affront to the most basic human dignity enshrined in our founding documents. Not one more taxpayer dollar should go to Planned Parenthood and I intend to make that goal a reality,” Sen. Paul said.

Click HERE to read the legislation in its entirety.

No related posts.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:20:34Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-introduces-amendment-extend-highway-trust-fund/,Dr. Rand Paul Introduces Amendment to Extend Highway Trust Fund,2015-07-22,2015,2015-07,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today introduced an amendment to H.R. 22, the vehicle for the highway bill, which would extend the Highway Trust Fund. The amendment would boost economic growth and create jobs by providing an incentive for companies to bring back some of the estimated $2 trillion in foreign earnings that are being held overseas. All tax revenues from the repatriation program would be transferred into the Highway Trust Fund, helping to address the urgent federal funding crisis facing America’s highways, bridges, and transit systems.

Sen. Paul originally introduced S. 981, The Invest in Transportation Act of 2015 earlier this year, co-sponsored by Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Steve Daines (R-MT), Cory Gardner (R-CO), and Roger Wicker (R-MS).

“Our nation’s highways and bridges are in desperate need of repair and demand our immediate attention. My amendment is a fiscally responsible approach to providing the necessary resources to correct the shortfalls in the Highway Trust Fund, while strengthening the U.S. economy and keeping jobs here at home,” Sen. Paul said.

Click HERE to read the amendment in its entirety.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:20:34Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-finds-federal-taxpayers-downwind-small-town-sewer-debacle-latest-waste-report/,Sen. Rand Paul Finds Federal Taxpayers Downwind of Small Town Sewer Debacle in Latest ‘The Waste Report’,2015-07-20,2015,2015-07,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released the latest edition to ‘The Waste Report,’ an ongoing project highlighting egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government. The latest edition uncovers millions of taxpayer dollars wasted on a costly gamble that didn’t exactly payoff. The city of Ray, North Dakota, spent $2.5 million, including $760,000 in low interest loans provided by the federal government, to increase the town’s sewer capacity. The only problem, the town’s population does not provide enough waste to support this plant so the city is now importing waste from surrounding areas in order to support this costly mistake.

‘The Waste Report’ can be found HERE or below.

You may have seen Rob Port’s WatchDog.org article on the sewer debacle in Ray, ND. Expecting a population explosion from the Bakken oil boom, the town of about 600 people nearly tripled their sewer capacity at a cost of $2.5 million. But then oil prices dropped, the boom cooled, and the population in Ray never took off as expected. Now the city does not have enough waste to run its plant and is importing, well, sewage from surrounding areas.[1]

A little town made a big gamble and is now importing sewage. Kind of a funny story; that is, until you learn that the federal taxpayer footed much of the bill for the sewer upgrade. That’s right, through the EPA’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund, federal dollars passed through the state and on to Ray as low interest loans, of which more than $760k was later forgiven.[2] And, that is not counting other federal funds that may have come in to the local water authority.

But this was not just an unforeseen error. No, Ray and the state seemed to have gotten caught up in the excitement of a boom and missed the forest for the trees. Ray’s 2015 comprehensive plan forecast its population to grow by a minimum of 396 percent by the end of this decade.[3] But Williams County (where Ray is located), projected only 22 percent population growth county-wide by 2020, with a peak of 32 percent in 2025, in its 2012 comprehensive plan.[4] Those figures more closely match historic boom era norms, including in Ray.

So, it is curious how this project ever got approved. While Ray will probably see some population growth over the next decade due to oil, it is at somewhat of a geographic disadvantage. Ray is between two larger cities, that are better positioned to grow to serve the oil industry, Tioga (pop est. 3000),[5] 15 miles to the east and in a higher concentration of wells; and the county seat of Williston (pop est. 30,000), 35 miles to the southwest, is simply more attractive to the influx of oil workers because of its size.[6]",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:20:34Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-demands-vote-end-taxpayer-funding-planned-parenthood/,Dr. Rand Paul Demands Vote to End Taxpayer Funding of Planned Parenthood,2015-07-17,2015,2015-07,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul announced today his intention to demand a vote in the U.S. Senate to eliminate taxpayer funding to Planned Parenthood. In the coming week, Sen. Paul will seek legislative action that will block taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood, an average of nearly $500 million annually. Sen. Paul will use all legislative vehicles at his disposal in order to ensure there is immediate action on this proposal.

“The continued disregard and disrespect for human life at Planned Parenthood, a partially taxpayer-funded organization, is shocking and appalling. Recent video revelations, involving potentially criminal activity, make it more obvious than ever that this organization has absolutely zero respect for the sanctity of human life and is an affront to the most basic human dignity enshrined in our founding documents. Not one more taxpayer dollar should go to Planned Parenthood and I intend to make that goal a reality,” Sen. Paul said.

No related posts.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:20:34Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-votes-against-flawed-education-reform-bill/,Dr. Rand Paul Votes Against Flawed Education Reform Bill,2015-07-16,2015,2015-07,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul issued a statement today following the U.S. Senate’s vote on S.1177, the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

“I believe education is the great equalizer, but Washington’s intrusion in the classroom leaves most kids behind. This bill is not the solution, as it retains some of No Child Left Behind’s biggest flaws – a lack of adequate parental choice, a federal testing mandate, and continued support for Common Core,” Sen. Paul said.

No related posts.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:20:34Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-senators-paul-and-mcconnell-introduce-legislation-require-congressional-review-over-bureau/,Senators Paul and McConnell Introduce Legislation to Require Congressional Review over the Bureau of Prisons,2015-07-16,2015,2015-07,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell introduced The Federal Prisons Accountability Act of 2015 today. The legislation requires the Director of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the United States Senate. Unlike most Department of Justice (DOJ) administrators or directors, the Director of BOP is appointed by the U.S. Attorney General without the approval of the Senate.

The Director of the BOP supervises Kentuckians who work at Kentucky’s five federal prisons and who protect the public under hazardous conditions on a daily basis. Kentucky corrections officers have repeatedly called for the BOP to take additional steps to mitigate risks to officer safety from violent inmates. Subjecting the BOP Director to the same congressional review as other top law enforcement agency chiefs within DOJ will ensure greater responsiveness by the agency to the safety needs of its nearly 40,000 dedicated federal corrections employees.

The BOP Director, who oversees operations at 122 federal facilities, also administers the controversial Federal Prisons Industries (FPI) program. This entity directly competes against the private sector, including small businesses in Kentucky, for government contracts and is inherently advantaged by its ability to pay federal prisoners less than private sector workers.

“No agency as large as the Bureau of Prisons should have so little accountability. Our bill will ensure the concerns of those who work in the prisons are heard and acted upon. It will also ensure the small businesses affected by competition from the bureau have their voices heard,” Senator Paul said.

“Currently, the director of the Bureau of Prisons has significant budget authority over taxpayer dollars without confirmation by the U.S. Senate,” Senator McConnell said. “The legislation I introduced today with Senator Paul will bring some much needed accountability and transparency to the BOP, which is important for all agencies within the Department of Justice, and will help protect private sector workers in Kentucky and across the nation.”

Don Peace, President of Local 614, which represents the staff at the U.S. Penitentiary McCreary in Pine Knot Kentucky, said “this bill would bring some greatly needed oversight to this agency. I applaud Senators McConnell and Paul’s leadership in introducing this bill. As Federal Law Enforcement Officers, we have a very dangerous job protecting society from criminals. The Senators have always been very supportive of us and this is just another way to show that support.”",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:20:34Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-exposes-nsfs-illogical-research-project-latest-waste-report/,Sen. Rand Paul Exposes NSF’s Illogical Research Project in Latest ‘The Waste Report’,2015-07-14,2015,2015-07,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released the latest edition to ‘The Waste Report,’ which is an ongoing project highlighting egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government. The latest edition exposes $175,950 spent by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to fund a research project seeking to predict how an individual will feel following an emotional decision making process.

‘The Waste Report’ can be found HERE or below.

The U.S. National Science Foundation – ‘The Waste Report’

Have you ever had a salesman try to talk you into a purchase you were not too sure about? Maybe he was selling you on watching the Super Bowl on a huge new T.V. or trying to convince you of the attention you will receive in a sporty new car. That sales technique counts on the buyer ignoring more logical, fact based considerations while focusing more on a feeling you may or may not have in the future.

Well, the National Science Foundation feels sorry for people that make poor decisions based on emotion and is hoping to help with a taxpayer funded $175,950 grant to research ways to better predict a person’s feelings about the decisions they make.[1]

“People making important decisions-such as whether to undergo surgery, listen to public health warnings, or pursue a specific career- will be better informed if they can accurately predict how the outcomes of their decisions will make them feel.”[2]

Using logic over emotion in making decisions should just be common sense and not warrant any research; but worse still is the government spending taxpayer money to figure out how people can better use emotion to make decisions. Maybe this grant was the product of an emotional decision based on feelings. It certainly wasn’t based on a logical use of your hard earned money.

So the next time there is a hurricane warning or a medical professional says you need a procedure, Uncle Sam wants to make sure you are fully in touch with your feelings when you make the decision on whether or not follow expert advice.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:20:34Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-introduces-pact-act-legislation-stop-sanctuary-cities-harboring-criminal-illegal/,"Dr. Rand Paul Introduces the PACT Act, Legislation to Stop “Sanctuary Cities” from Harboring Criminal Illegal Aliens",2015-07-13,2015,2015-07,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul introduced legislation that would prevent “sanctuary cities” from harboring violent and dangerous criminal aliens, known as the Protecting American Citizens Together Act (PACT Act). The PACT Act would require state and local law enforcement to notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following the arrest of an illegal immigrant and detain an illegal immigrant if requested to do so by ICE. Additionally, if the Bureau of Prisons receives a request from ICE to transfer an illegal immigrant to their custody, that request will take priority over the request from state and local agencies. Under this legislation, localities will be required to follow the new requirements as a condition of receiving federal law enforcement grants.

“Our nation now has whole cities and states who stand up and willingly defy federal immigration laws in order to protect illegal immigrants who have broken our nation’s laws. This must end and it must end now. My bill makes it clear, the American people will not stand for cities harboring violent criminals,” Sen. Paul said.

Click HERE to read the PACT Act in its entirety.

No related posts.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:20:34Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-announces-legislation-block-sanctuary-cities-receiving-federal-law-enforcement/,Dr. Rand Paul Announces Legislation to Block “Sanctuary Cities” from Receiving Federal Law Enforcement Grants,2015-07-09,2015,2015-07,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul announced plans to introduce legislation that would prevent “sanctuary cities” from harboring violent and dangerous criminal aliens. The legislation would require state and local law enforcement to notify the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following the arrest of an illegal immigrant and detain an illegal immigrant if requested to do so by ICE. If the Bureau of Prisons receives a request from ICE to transfer an illegal immigrant to their custody, that request will take priority over the request from state and local agencies. Under this legislation, localities will be required to follow the new requirements as a condition of receiving federal law enforcement grants.

“Our nation now has whole cities and states who stand up and willingly defy federal immigration laws in order to protect illegal immigrants who have broken our nation’s laws. This must end and it must end now. My bill makes it clear, the American people will not stand for cities harboring violent criminals,” Sen. Paul said.

No related posts.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:20:34Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-issues-statement-armys-reduction-and-realignment-impacting-kentuckys-military/,Sen. Rand Paul Issues Statement on Army’s Reduction and Realignment Impacting Kentucky’s Military Installations,2015-07-09,2015,2015-07,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today issued the following statement regarding the announcement of Army personnel reductions and the impact on military installations in Kentucky.

“Kentucky has absorbed a disproportionate amount of troop cuts in the past and, while I am disappointed to see any more from Fort Campbell, it is reassuring to know the Army recognizes the value of our bases and backed away from its earlier plans for devastating new cuts,” Sen. Paul said.

In the past year, Sens. Paul and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) issued two letters to the Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel voicing their concerns with the proposed Army cuts. Both letters can be found HERE and HERE.

In January 2015, Sen. Paul participated in the Fort Campbell and Fort Knox community listening sessions and spoke in favor of protecting and expanding Army personnel at both Kentucky bases.

No related posts.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:20:34Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-raises-curtain-federal-government-giveaway-hollywood-elite-latest-waste-report/,Sen. Rand Paul Raises the Curtain on Federal Government Giveaway to Hollywood Elite in Latest ‘The Waste Report’,2015-07-06,2015,2015-07,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul released the latest edition of ‘The Waste Report,’ which is an ongoing project to catalog egregious examples of wasteful spending throughout the U.S. government.

This week’s edition of ‘The Waste Report,’ uncovers $25,000 of taxpayer funds granted by the U.S. National Endowment of The Arts to subsidize exhibit planning for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science’s (the academy) museum. The academy is widely known for holding the Oscars, an annual award show that profits the academy roughly $50 million each year.

‘The Waste Report’ can be found HERE or below.

The U.S. National Endowment of the Arts – Lights, Camera, Waste

Since well before Jed Clampett moved his family to Beverly Hills, Hollywood and the movie industry has been synonymous with wealth. At the center of it all is The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the academy), familiar to most Americans for its annual awards show commonly known as the Oscars.

So one may ask, why an organization in an industry known for an abundance of wealth needs a $25,000 grant from the National Endowment of The Arts to help plan exhibits for the Academy Museum, which is set to break ground later this year?[1] The grant is supposed to help fund decision making about the, “exhibition’s conceptual themes, selection of related artist projects and creation of a film/film clip listing, artifact checklist, and preliminary interpretive plans.”[2]

But, while Uncle Sam helps pay to plan the museum’s exhibit, one item we know will be in the museum is the Aries 1B Trans-Lunar Space Shuttle from, 2001: A Space Odyssey, which the academy bought for a cool $344,000.[3]

In addition to scores of Hollywood brass ponying up donations to the museum, the academy is flush with cash; it makes profits of roughly $50 million on the Oscars alone.[4]

And, while $25,000 might be small in the scope of the federal budget or in Hollywood, it is over half what the average worker makes in a year,[5] and equals the full federal tax liability of almost four average Americans.[6] So, one must wonder, when cries ring out about what constitutes a fair share of taxes for someone to pay, why are any of those tax dollars going to support a museum that does not need it?

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:20:34Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-highlights-federal-insurance-boondoggle-costing-310-million-annually/,Sen. Rand Paul Highlights a Federal Insurance Boondoggle Costing $310 Million Annually,2015-06-29,2015,2015-06,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released the newest edition to ‘The Waste Report.’ ‘The Waste Report’ is an ongoing project to catalog egregious examples of wasteful spending throughout the U.S. government.

This week’s edition of ‘The Waste Report,’ exposes a loophole in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) crop insurance program, costing American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. Each year, the USDA pays out on crop insurance claims for “prevented planting” to farmers who cannot plant their crops due to extreme weather. However, exploiting the generality of law, farmers with seasonal wetlands that regularly flood in planting season but dry other times, are raking in approximately $310 million annually in crop insurance payments.

‘The Waste Report’ can be found HERE or below.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture – ‘The Waste Report’

Insurance protects against the rare and unforeseen, not the regular and predictable. You insure your car against accident, not oil change.

But, when the government is the insurer, this kind of obvious logic does not apply. Surprisingly (or maybe not), the Department of Agriculture (USDA) is paying out hundreds of millions of dollars annually in “prevented planting” crop insurance to farmers who cannot plant their corps in SEASONAL WETLANDS.[1]

At issue is the intersection of the “prevented planting” crop insurance and prairie potholes. What are prairie potholes? They are basically ground depressions that fill with water in the rainy spring and dry out in the summer and fall, and are mostly located in the upper-Midwest. The “prevented planting” program is taxpayer subsidized crop insurance that compensates farmers when extreme weather prevents planting.

The problem is, some farmers claim prevented planting each year for the regular flooding of prairie potholes.[2] In fact, farmers in sixty-five counties, mostly in the Dakotas, have gotten payouts; 14 years in a row, and in another twenty-nine counties have gotten payments 13 of the last 14 years. In most cases, insurance payments were greater what direct crop subsidies would have been.[3] These farmers are raking in approximately $310 million annually.

No private insurer would stand for this and would either not offer insurance or would control for this kind of abuse. To their credit, the USDA is not complacent in this abuse. Several attempts have been made to close the prairie pothole loophole. As recently as last year, USDA “clarified” rules to effectively prohibit claims four years in a row.[4] But data suggests this new policy could be gamed. At the heart of the problem is that USDA simply does not have a definition of “normal” weather.[5]

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:17:59Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-calls-out-nsf-wasting-money-duplicative-study-measurement-latest-waste-report/,Sen. Rand Paul Calls Out NSF for Wasting Money on Duplicative Study Measurement in Latest ‘The Waste Report’,2015-06-22,2015,2015-06,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released the newest edition to ‘The Waste Report.’ ‘The Waste Report’ is an ongoing project to catalog egregious examples of wasteful spending throughout the U.S. government.

This week’s edition of ‘The Waste Report,’ uncovers millions of dollars spent each year by the U.S. government on an office to promote and study weight and measurement in relation to the metric system. Incongruously, the government is also spending $188,000 to fund a university professor to write a book to explain why Americans cannot adapt to using the metric system.

‘The Waste Report’ can be found HERE or below.

The U.S. National Science Foundation – Measuring Waste

A teacher may have tried to teach you the metric system, but you probably still do not know what a 22? C temperature or 10K run really means.

Now the National Science Foundation is spending $188,000 to fund a university professor to write a book on “The Measure of Modernity: Standards and Standardization in the United States.”[1] The grant synopsis notes, “A comprehensive history of standards and standardization in America does not exist…” The reasoning may be found elsewhere in the synopsis where it says, “they [measurements and standards] are quite pervasive but rarely appreciated.”[2]

While measurements and standard may be rarely appreciated, the U.S. government does spend millions of dollars each year on an office to promote and study weight and measurement, the Office of Weights and Measures at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. One of their functions is to promote broader acceptance of the metric system in the United Sates.[3]

In fact, the U.S. government has been promoting the metric system for 140 years. Why? Well, it would probably surprise most Americans to know that in 1875, the U.S. became a party to the Treaty of the Meter which officially put the United States on the metric system. But official or not, as was observed by the Monroe Administration in 1821, the free-market had caused a coalescence around a relatively uniform system of measurement, the American Customary System.[4]

As to a history of measurement, the Office of Weights and Measures has an array of publication about the subject, including, Weights and Measurements of the United States: A Brief History.[5] While little has developed to prompt an update of this publication since 1975, if we need an updated history, they are the ones to do it.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:17:59Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-passes-amendment-benefitting-kentucky-army-bases-and-communities/,Sen. Rand Paul Passes Amendment Benefitting Kentucky Army Bases and Communities,2015-06-18,2015,2015-06,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) today secured passage of his Service Members and Communities Count Act as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Paul Amendment No. 1678 requires the U.S. Census Bureau to count all deployed service members at the base or port in which they resided prior to deployment. Presently, deployed members are counted as part of the U.S. overseas population, instead of in the community where they and their families actually reside.

In 2010, approximately 10,000 service members stationed at Fort Campbell were deployed from the installation at the time of the census, costing the community in the population count. Sen. Paul’s amendment will ensure that the next census accurately counts the communities where these service members live. Sen. Paul first introduced his bill in 2012.

“My Service Members and Communities Count Act will ensure the Kentucky communities that proudly host and serve our Army families receive the resources they need to provide for our military families,” Sen. Paul said.

Additionally, Sen. Paul voted in favor of an amendment introduced by Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) which would require the Army to maintain a minimum of 32 brigade combat teams in the regular and reserve components. Since 2013, Kentucky has absorbed a disproportionate amount of active duty Army reductions and transfers at both Fort Campbell and Fort Knox. Had it passed, the amendment would have prevented any further elimination of brigade combat teams in Kentucky and across the country, however it failed 26-73.

No related posts.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:17:59Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-introduces-arming-all-pilots-act-2015/,Sen. Rand Paul Introduces the Arming All Pilots Act of 2015,2015-06-17,2015,2015-06,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul introduced S.1594, the Arming All Pilots Act of 2015. This legislation will increase training opportunities to encourage pilots to participate in the Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) Program. Specifically, the Arming All Pilots Act will expand the number of training facilities used for initial and recurrent training, including firearms requalification. Additionally, the bill will require a five-day initial training, with two days of in-person classroom attendance and additional on-line training options. Recurrent training for officers would be set at two days every five years.

“The Federal Flight Deck Officer Program is an important element in our continued efforts to ensure the safety of airline passengers, and my bill will make it possible for more pilots to get trained and protect flyers. Pilots regularly tell me they’ve experienced problems with the availability of training under the current program; my bill addresses those concerns and ensures that participants in the program have access to licenses and the critical training they need,” Sen. Paul said.

Click HERE to read the Arming All Pilots Act of 2015 in its entirety.

No related posts.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:17:59Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-votes-support-ndaa-amendment-arm-kurds-fight-against-isis/,Sen. Rand Paul Votes in Support of NDAA Amendment to Arm the Kurds in Fight Against ISIS,2015-06-16,2015,2015-06,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) issued a statement today following the U.S. Senate’s vote on Sen. Joni Ernst’s (R-IA) Amendment No. 1549 to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The amendment would allow the U.S. to provide direct assistance to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), a critical partner in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS). Specifically, the amendment would provide temporary, emergency authority for the President to provide weapons and training directly to Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces.

The amendment, No. 1549, failed passage with a vote of 54-45.

“The Iraqi Kurdish forces are skilled fighters that are ready and willing to defeat ISIS, but often do not have the weapons to do so. As one of our closest allies in the Middle East, I fully support sending arms to the Kurdish fighters. This amendment would help ensure the Kurds have the support they need in order to defeat radical Islam,” Sen. Paul said.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:17:59Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-introduces-legislation-enact-congressional-transparency/,Sen. Rand Paul Introduces Legislation to Enact Congressional Transparency,2015-06-15,2015,2015-06,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today reintroduced S.1575, Write the Laws Act, S.1572, One Subject at a Time Act, and S.1571, Read the Bills Act. These pieces of legislation, originally introduced in the 112th Congress, will restore the constitutional principle of separation of powers, end the practice of including more than one subject in a single bill, and preserve the constitutional authority of Congress.

“Too often in Congress, legislation is pushed through without hearings, amendments, or debate. I firmly believe the American people have a right to be part of the legislative process. My bills will allow citizens sufficient time to read and give input to members of Congress as they consider legislation impacting the lives of all Americans. I will continue to stand by my pledge to increase transparency and accessibility in the U.S. Senate,” Sen. Paul said.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:17:59Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-releases-newest-edition-waste-report-1/,Sen. Rand Paul Releases Newest Edition of ‘The Waste Report’,2015-06-15,2015,2015-06,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul released the newest edition to ‘The Waste Report.’ ‘The Waste Report’ is an ongoing project cataloging egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government. This week’s report uncovers more than $850,000 of taxpayer dollars in the U.S. National Science Foundation spent on winemaking programs for Community Colleges in Washington state.

‘The Waste Report’ can be found HERE or below.

The U.S. National Science Foundation – $850,000 Washington Community College Winemaking Programs

It’s no secret Americans are embracing wine, leading entrepreneurs to plant fields of grapes across America. Washington State has been at the forefront of this trend since winemaking first expanded beyond California’s borders decades ago. In fact, according to the USDA, as of 2013, wine is a $230 million industry in Washington alone.[1]

So with such a booming, well established industry, why is the National Science Foundation providing $853,000 to Washington community colleges to fund winemaking programs?[2] This is especially strange given that community colleges throughout the Pacific Northwest have offered wine-centric degrees for years. Two of the recipients of this grant have well established programs; The South Seattle College, started the Northwest Wine Academy in 2004[3], and Yakama Valley Community College began its Vineyard and Winery Technology program in 2010[4]

The justification, according to the grant synopsis is that last year, an industry assessment (available on the Washington State University website) found the state’s wine industry could be in a labor shortage, needing more than six thousand new workers by 2018. But, a closer look at this study shows, that even at the upper extreme, only 4% of new workers will require an Associate’s Degree. The vast majority, 5990 new workers (94%), will need no degree.[5]

Most troubling, NSF is often touted as being critical to funding cutting-edge, basic research that the private market would not. Yet this grant does not fund research. Instead, it is targeted at community colleges with existing wine programs to help them “share resources and develop new online and hybrid curricula for Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degrees…” [6]",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:17:59Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-holds-hearing-wasteful-spending-federal-government/,Sen. Rand Paul Holds Hearing on Wasteful Spending in the Federal Government,2015-06-10,2015,2015-06,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), chairman of the Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management (FSO) for the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee (HSGAC) is holding a hearing today entitled, “Wasteful Spending in the Federal Government: An Outside Perspective.” During the hearing, Sen. Paul will highlight areas of domestic wasteful spending within the federal government and discuss possible approaches to mitigate and eliminate such waste. Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) will also be participating in the hearing.

Witnesses testifying in the hearing include: Romina Boccia, Research Fellow at the Heritage Foundation; Tom Schatz, President of Citizens Against Government Waste; Chris Edwards, Director of Tax Policy and editor of DownsizingGovernment.org; Steve Ellis, Vice President of Taxpayers for Common Sense; and Don Kettl, Professor of Public Administration at the University of Maryland.

Below is the video and transcript of Sen. Paul’s opening remarks.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH SEN. PAUL’S OPENING REMARKS AT THE HEARING

TRANSCRIPT

Sen. Rand Paul: I call this hearing of the Federal Spending Oversight Subcommittee to order. The topic today is going to be government waste and how we can practically to do something to curb waste, but also to ameliorate the problem we have with the growing deficit. We have a deficit this year that is expected to be about $583 billion and some we say we are fixing the deficit because it’s getting smaller, yet the overall debt is growing enormously larger.

We have about a million dollars that we borrow every minute and I think this is a threat to our economy and some economists said that it’s costing us millions of jobs just because of the burden of this debt. So what we are going to do is talk about some of the waste and some of this has been talked about in the past, but my hope is from the discussion today we can actually itemize some of this.

And as we itemize this, and then actually give advice to some of the people who spend it, the committee’s that spend this. And too often we have reports and they never get acted upon. The new majority has said that we are going to try to pass all of the Appropriations bills. There is a great deal of power to the purse, if we’ll actually use it. It’s what the expression is supposed to mean, we’re supposed to express how we like the money to be spent.

But if you don’t have Appropriations bills, you’re lumped all together in some OMNIBUS or Continuing Resolution you lose your power as to direct how to spend it and as a consequence we never eliminate any of the waste. I’ve seen very little examples that we eliminate any waste we determine, but it is my hope to not just have a discussion, but to have a conclusion to actually have a blueprint for how we can get rid of government waste.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:17:59Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-senate-foreign-relations-committee-votes-sen-pauls-stand-israel-amendment/,Senate Foreign Relations Committee Votes on Sen. Paul’s Stand with Israel Amendment,2015-06-09,2015,2015-06,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee today voted on Senator Rand Paul’s amendment to the U.S. Department of State Operations Authorization and Embassy Security Act. This legislation, which holds the same text as the Stand with Israel Act of 2015, would halt all U.S. foreign aid to the Palestinian Authority (P.A.) until the P.A. renounces violence, purges terrorists from its ranks, and recognizes the nation of Israel. In the 113th Congress, Sen. Rand Paul originally introduced this legislation in response to the P.A.’s attempts to form a unity government with the terrorists of Hamas-a unity government that remains.

The amendment, however, did not pass with a vote of 5-14.

“I am deeply disappointed with the vote against my Stand with Israel amendment today. American tax dollars continue to flow to governments that openly seek the destruction of one of our nation’s biggest allies, Israel. My support has not and will not waiver; I will continue pushing to cut off all U.S. foreign aid to the Palestinian Authority until they recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, renounce terrorism, and purge terrorists from their ranks,” Sen. Paul said.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:17:59Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-senators-introduce-amendment-protect-against-indefinite-detention/,Senators Introduce Amendment To Protect Against Indefinite Detention,2015-06-09,2015,2015-06,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON—Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced the Due Process Guarantee amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. The amendment is designed to protect Americans from being detained indefinitely, without charge or trial.

The amendment aims to end ongoing legal ambiguities by affirming and strengthening the principles behind the Non-Detention Act of 1971.

“The indefinite detention of a U.S. citizen without due process is fundamentally un-American. Our founding fathers believed so firmly in the right to trial by jury that they enshrined it in the body of the Constitution, and again in the Sixth Amendment,” Sen. Paul said. “We can and will vigorously investigate and prosecute all who seek to do us harm, and we can do so while respecting the constitutional liberties of American citizens.”

“America should never waiver in vigilantly pursuing those who would commit, or plot to commit, acts of treason against our country. But the federal government should not be allowed to indefinitely imprison any American on the mere accusation of treason without affording them the due process guaranteed by our Constitution,” Sen. Mike Lee said. “By forbidding the government from detaining Americans without trial absent explicit congressional approval, the Due Process Guarantee amendment strikes the right balance between protecting our security and the civil liberties of each citizen.”

“Detaining Americans captured within the United States indefinitely without trial or even charge is a clear violation of our Constitution and our values, and it must not be permitted,” said Sen. Feinstein. “We’ve seen over and over again that our criminal justice system is well-equipped to interrogate and convict terrorists, and I support that process. We need to stand strong against terrorism, and we need to do so within the bounds of U.S. law. This amendment has been approved by the Senate in the past but not enacted; I’m hopeful that this year it will be adopted by both chambers of Congress.”

“This bipartisan amendment strengthens our nation’s founding principles of justice and fairness under the law by protecting all American citizens and lawful residents from indefinite detention without charge or trial while also guaranteeing due process of law,” said Sen. Collins. “Despite successfully passing the Senate with sixty-seven votes in 2012, this amendment unfortunately failed to be adopted. I am hopeful that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will take action to swiftly pass this amendment into law.”

“The Constitution does not allow President Obama, or any President, to apprehend an American citizen, arrested on U.S. soil, and detain these citizens indefinitely without a trial,” said Sen. Cruz. “That’s why I have consistently supported measures to prohibit indefinite detention in the NDAA. The Due Process Guarantee amendment will prohibit the President’s ability to indefinitely detain U.S. citizens arrested on American soil without trial or due process. While we must vigorously protect national security by pursuing violent terrorists and preventing acts of terror, we must also ensure our most basic rights as American citizens are protected.”

In recent years, some have argued that the indefinite detention of Americans is permissible under the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF). The Due Process Guarantee amendment clarifies that the AUMF and other general authorizations cannot be construed as acts of Congress that permit indefinite detention and codifies the “clear statement rule” to clarify that indefinite detention can only occur if Congress expressly authorizes it.

The bill also expands the Non-Detention Act of 1971 to include legal permanent residents in addition to citizens.

In December 2012, the Senate passed this amendment to the fiscal year 2013 National Defense Authorization Act with 67 votes, but it stalled in the House of Representatives. This legislation is almost identical to that language.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:17:59Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-releases-newest-edition-waste-report-0/,Sen. Rand Paul Releases Newest Edition of ‘The Waste Report’,2015-06-08,2015,2015-06,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"Uncovers a U.S. Government Funded Afghan Cricket League

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released the fifth edition to ‘The Waste Report.’ ‘The Waste Report’ is an ongoing project to catalog egregious examples of wasteful spending throughout the U.S. government.

The newest edition of the ‘The Waste Report’ uncovers a U.S government funded cricket league in Afghanistan. Grant data from the U.S. State Department shows the Afghan cricket league will cost American taxpayers half a million dollars this year alone.

‘The Waste Report’ can be found HERE or below.

The U.S. State Department Waste – Afghanistan Cricket League

Imagine if the federal government funded a major U.S. broadcaster to put on a baseball tournament, featuring MLB players, and all in the name of combating gang violence?

Surprisingly, the U.S. State Department (State) is doing almost exactly that in Afghanistan, by propping up the Sixers Cricket League. Last year the federal government gave One TV, a for-profit Afghan television station, roughly $350,000, to “support the development of a national cricket league [principally a tournament] in Afghanistan,” In addition to sponsoring the league, this grant helped train personnel on sports broadcasting and production. [1]

Just last month, State published a new grant opportunity to put on the same tournament this year and again, includes training “Afghans in the production of professional sports broadcasts (specifically cricket).” This time, the grant is for up to $500,000 with an option for a one year extension. Applicants must demonstrate their ability to work with the Afghan Cricket Board (which is the sport’s governing body), but also One TV, as they retain the exclusive broadcasting rights to the tournament. [2]

The idea behind the cricket league is to provide an outlet for young men who may be susceptible to extremism in Afghanistan.[3] But instead of something like a little league, these at-risk youths mostly get to watch on TV, which may be hard given only 0.003 percent of the population have TVs.[4] Instead, the league is comprised of five regional teams[5] and is to feature well-known Afghan cricket players such as Mohammad Nabi Eisakhel, who last year captained the Bandi Ameer Dragon as well as the successful Afghan National Team.[6]

[1] https://www.usaspending.gov/transparency/Pages/TransactionDetails.aspx?RecordID=27765306-04D5-EC2A-EF26-B66BD60929B9&AwardID=7960995&AwardType=G

[2] Department of State, Men’s National Cricket League in Afghanistan, Kabul, Afghanistan. April 2015, Grant Id No. SCAKAB-15-CA-008-SCA-04222015

[3] Ibid

[4] Basic Data- Afghanistan, PressReferance.com, Web: May 2015; http://www.pressreference.com/A-Be/Afghanistan.html

[5] Ibid

[6] http://1tvnews.af/en/news/sport/11849-cricket-afghan-sixer-tournament-commences-bandi-ameer-dragons-vs-spin-ghar-tigers",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:17:59Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-introduces-amendments-ndaa-protect-kentuckys-military-installments/,Sen. Rand Paul Introduces Amendments to NDAA to Protect Kentucky’s Military Installments,2015-06-05,2015,2015-06,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul this week introduced the following amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). As a fierce advocate for our nation’s armed forces and staunch defender of Kentucky’s Fort Campbell and Fort Knox, Sen. Paul introduced two amendments specifically designed to protect Kentucky’s military installments.

Amendment No. 1678 would require the Census Bureau to count all deployed service members at the base or port in which they resided prior to deployment. This much-needed change will create one consistent and logical method for the counting of deployed service members. From 2009 through 2010, thousands of service members were sent to Afghanistan to support the surge efforts, which overlapped with the 2010 census collection.

“Families and communities provide a vital role in supporting the men and women protecting our nation’s freedom in the Armed Forces. My amendment would count the deployed service members according to where they actually live, creating a better representation of the population and ensuring the communities have the resources needed to support our troops and their families,” Sen. Paul said.

Amendment No. 1679 would specifically allow the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to produce natural gas at Fort Knox.

“While the development of natural gas resources underlying federal lands is generally the responsibility of the Department of the Interior, my amendment would provide an exception for previously existing natural gas development at Fort Knox. Allowing the Department of Defense to produce natural gas at Fort Knox would not only be cost-effective for the government, but beneficial for the Fort Knox community,” Sen. Paul said.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:17:59Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-introduces-budget-amendments-ndaa/,Sen. Rand Paul Introduces Budget Amendments to NDAA,2015-06-05,2015,2015-06,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul this week introduced the following amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). These amendments are largely aimed at eliminating inefficiencies and wasted funds within the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). As a fierce advocate for our nation’s armed forces, Sen. Paul believes these amendments will help ensure that DoD funds are spent on our most critical defense needs, as efficiently as possible.

Below is the list of Sen. Paul’s amendments with summaries.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Amendment No. 1543 – “Bonus for Cost Cutters”

Allows U.S. government agency’s inspector general to pay a bonus of up to $10,000 when a federal employee identifies surplus or unneeded funds; 90% of those savings go towards deficit reduction.

Amendment No. 1545 – Budget Point Order against appropriations for unauthorized programs

Creates a budget point of order against funding programs that have been expired for more than 5 years.

Forces Congress to eliminate appropriations for programs that do not have authorization.

Amendment No. 1546 – Increase in transfer authority (Sequester Flexibility Act)

Grants U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) $50 billion in transfer authority between accounts to mitigate the effects of sequestration.

Amendment No. 1547 – Bonus for Cost Cutters for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)

Provides incentives for DoD contractors to save money including ability to keep a portion of their savings and contracting incentives for future contracts.

Amendment No. 1548 – Eliminating duplicative programs

Allows the U.S. Secretary of Defense the ability to work with other government agencies to eliminate duplicative programs performed by other sectors of the government.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:17:59Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-offers-amendment-ndaa-declassify-911-congressional-inquiry/,Sen. Rand Paul Offers Amendment to NDAA to Declassify 9/11 Congressional Inquiry,2015-06-05,2015,2015-06,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul this week introduced Amendment No. 1680 to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which would require President Obama to declassify and make available to the public the redacted 28 pages from the Joint Inquiry into Intelligence Community Activities Before and After the Terrorist Attacks of September 2001. Similarly, Sen. Paul introduced the Transparency for the Families of 9/11 Victims and Survivors Act of 2015 earlier this week, co-sponsored by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).

“For over 13 years, the family members of the victims of September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks have been deprived of the details surrounding the redacted 28 pages of the 9/11 Congressional Inquiry. I firmly believe the American people deserve a government that instills trust and a restoration of their sense of security, and think my amendment is a step in the right direction,” Sen. Paul said.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:17:59Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-paul-mcconnell-and-whitfield-press-energy-secretary-moniz-paducah-doe-site/,"Paul, McConnell and Whitfield Press Energy Secretary Moniz on Paducah DOE Site",2015-06-04,2015,2015-06,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senator Rand Paul, and Congressman Ed Whitfield today met with Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Ernest Moniz to discuss the immediate and long term future of the Paducah DOE site. The delegation, on behalf of the community, stressed the importance of DOE’s commitment to cleanup and reindustrialization in Paducah in addition to securing a long term acquisition strategy and future for the site.

“The Paducah DOE site is extremely important to the people of Paducah, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and to each of us,” stated McConnell, Paul and Whitfield. “It is crucial that DOE develop a long-term strategy for the site to ensure that ongoing and future deactivation and decontamination work is done properly and executed in a timely manner. The DOE must maximize the resources it has been provided to promote job growth and preservation in Paducah, and we remain dedicated to ensuring that DOE commits to a long-term plan.”

Recent action taken by the Kentucky Congressional Delegation on behalf of Paducah:

ü McConnell, Paul and Whitfield Urge DOE to Release Cleanup Funding for Paducah

ü Whitfield Presses Energy Secretary on Paducah Cleanup Efforts (video)

ü McConnell Advocates on Behalf of Paducah to DOE Secretary (video)

ü McConnell, Paul and Whitfield Urge DOE to move quickly implementing the contract

ü Whitfield Secures Over $257 Million for Continued Cleanup of Paducah DOE Site in House Appropriations Bill",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:17:59Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sens-paul-warner-introduce-bonuses-cost-cutters-amendment-ndaa/,"Sens. Paul, Warner Introduce Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Amendment to NDAA",2015-06-04,2015,2015-06,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Rand Paul (R-KY) and Mark Warner (D-VA) today introduced Amendment 1543 to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), known as Bonuses for Cost-Cutters. Building on the current federal law, the amendment would allow a U.S. government agency’s inspector general to pay a bonus of up to $10,000 when a federal employee identifies surplus or unneeded funds.

“Federal employees, under the current law, have a perverse incentive to spend all of their agency’s annual budget before the end of the year. Through bonus incentives, my amendment will reduce the federal deficit and reverse the trend toward agency bloat, by combating inefficiency and mismanagement of funds in the government,” Sen. Paul said.

Click HERE to read the amendment in its entirety.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:17:59Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-unveils-bipartisan-transparency-families-911-victims-and-survivors-act/,Sen. Rand Paul Unveils the Bipartisan “Transparency for the Families of 9/11 Victims and Survivors Act”,2015-06-02,2015,2015-06,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), U.S. Representatives Walter Jones (R-NC), Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA), and Thomas Massie (R-KY) and former U.S. Senator Bob Graham (D-FL) stood today with family members of victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to announce new bipartisan legislation, S.1471, known as the Transparency for the Families of 9/11 Victims and Survivors Act of 2015.

The legislation, co-sponsored by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), would require President Obama to declassify and make available to the public the redacted 28 pages from the Joint Inquiry into Intelligence Community Activities Before and After the Terrorist Attacks of September 2001, which have been obscured from the public for over 13 years. Also participating in the press conference was Terry Strada, National Chair of the 9/11 Families and Survivors United For Justice Against Terrorism, her daughter Kaitlyn Strada, and Abraham Scott, husband of a victim of the 9/11 attacks.

“I stand with my colleagues today to call for the release of the final 28 pages of the 9/11 Congressional Inquiry. I firmly believe the family members of the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks have the right to know the details surrounding the tragedies that occurred on that sad day. The American people deserve a government that instills trust and a restoration of their sense of security, and I believe that the Transparency for the Families of the 9/11 Victims and Survivors Act is a step in the right direction,” Sen. Paul said.

“I introduced H. Res. 14 to urge President Obama to declassify the 28 pages of the Joint Inquiry report into 9/11 because the 9/11 families deserve peace and the American people deserve the truth,” said Rep. Jones. “Releasing these pages will enhance our national security, not harm it. I am pleased that Senator Paul, Senator Wyden, and Senator Gillibrand have introduced companion legislation in the Senate. I look forward to the day when the 28 pages are declassified, and I will not stop fighting until that happens. The American people deserve to know what led to the tragic attacks on September 11, 2001.”

“The 9/11 report was meant to shed light on the circumstances that led to that horrific day, and a lack of transparency undermines that intent at the expense of victims, their families and Americans. The declassification of these pages is long-overdue, and I am hopeful my colleagues in both the Senate and House will join in our fight for the transparency Americans deserve,” said Sen. Gillibrand.

“If the FBI wants to say publicly that they have investigated all of the leads identified in this report, they are free to do so,” Sen. Wyden said. “But that doesn’t justify blacking out an entire section of the report. Information should only be classified to protect national security, not simply because it is inconvenient or dated.”

“Our nation suffered a tremendous loss on September 11th, 2001. The victims of the terrorist attacks, their families and our country as a whole deserve a full accounting of the circumstances surrounding those attacks. After careful review of the 28 pages, I believe the full bicameral, bipartisan congressional report should be made public. This will be an important step toward answering some of the questions that remain,” said Rep. Lynch. “It may have been a matter of national security to classify these pages in 2002, but it is a now a matter of justice and responsible governance to make them public in 2015.”

“If avoiding another 9/11 is going to be the justification for involving us in more wars in the Middle East, then the American people need a complete picture of what enabled 9/11. The declassification of these 28 pages will reshape our foreign policy in the Middle East. Based on my reading of the documents, I am confident that making these 28 pages public would enhance, not harm, national security. I look forward to continue this effort with Senator Paul, Representative Jones, and Representative Lynch and urge my colleagues to read the pages and cosponsor H. Res. 14 in the House and S. 1471 in the Senate,” Rep. Massie said.

Click HERE for the Transparency for the Families of 9/11 Victims and Survivors Act of 2015 in its entirety.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:17:59Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sens-paul-wyden-release-joint-amendments-call-votes-proposals-expand-surveillance-reforms/,"Sens. Paul, Wyden Release Joint Amendments, Call For Votes On Proposals to Expand Surveillance Reforms",2015-06-02,2015,2015-06,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"Washington, D.C. – Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., announced nine amendments to reform U.S. surveillance programs, enhance protections for American’s personal information and improve transparency regarding intelligence activities. Wyden and Paul called on Republican leaders to allow votes on amendments to strengthen privacy protections, rather than forcing votes on amendments that would water down the USA Freedom Act.

The joint amendments would:

· Amendment 1446: Require the government to get a warrant before collecting personal information from third parties

· Amendment 1441: Raise the standard for government collection of call records under FISA from “reasonable grounds” to “probable cause”

· Amendment 1442: Limit the government’s ability to use information gathered under intelligence authorities in unrelated criminal cases

· Amendment 1443: Make it easier to challenge the use of illegally obtained surveillance information in criminal proceedings

· Amendment 1454: Prohibit the government from requiring hardware and software companies to deliberately weaken encryption and other security features

· Amendment 1444: Clarify the bill’s definition of “specific selection terms”

· Amendment 1445: Require court approval for National Security Letters

· Amendment 1455: Prohibit the government from conducting warrantless reviews of Americans’ email and other communications under section 702 of the Foreign intelligence Surveillance Act

· Amendment 1460: Strengthen the bill with additional provisions from previously introduced surveillance reform legislation.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:17:59Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-waste-powered-sun-sen-rand-paul-releases-waste-report-june-1-2015/,"Waste, Powered by the Sun – Sen. Rand Paul Releases ‘The Waste Report’ for June 1, 2015",2015-06-01,2015,2015-06,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released the fourth edition to ‘The Waste Report,’ which is an ongoing project highlighting egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government. In this latest edition, ‘The Waste Report’ exposes $8 million of waste spent by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on 7000 defective solar panels for a VA Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas, that were never able to be turned on.

‘The Waste Report’ can be found HERE or below.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs – $8 Million Defective Solar Panels

In the latest example of a federal solar project gone wrong, the Little Rock, AR Veterans Hospital made an $8 million investment on nearly 7000 solar panels that were never turned on. Now the VA is removing those panels to make way for a new parking structure, which supposedly will house the solar panels on its roof.[1]

Local news reports show decisions were made on the parking project with plenty of time to prevent the wasted spending on the solar panels. The parking project was approved in August 2012, six month before the solar project broke ground, and the site was selected for the parking structure a month before the solar project was complete.[2]

But it was not the parking structure that prevented the panels from being turned on. According to local news, the solar project had design flaws that caused difficulties linking up to the local power grid. ArkansasMatters.com reports that a representative for the solar project contractor likened the project to baking a cake, saying, “We didn’t have a good recipe here and we’re afraid of toasting something.”[3]

Even if the project had come off as planned, the VA estimates the solar panels would save about $150,000 a year (about 12 percent) in electricity costs. Meaning it would take 53 years for the panels to pay for themselves.[4]

Members of the Arkansas congressional delegation, including Senator John Boozman and Rep. French Hill (R)-who represents Little Rock, are asking the Inspector General to investigate this matter further.[5]",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:17:59Z
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-remarks-expiration-patriot-act/,Sen. Rand Paul Remarks on Expiration of PATRIOT Act,2015-05-31,2015,2015-05,Republican,Senate,KY,Rand Paul,P000603,www.paul.senate.gov,paul,https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul made the following remarks on the U.S. Senate floor tonight regarding the expiration of the PATRIOT Act. Below is the video and transcript of Sen. Paul’s floor speech.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH SEN. PAUL’S REMARKS ON THE EXPIRATION OF PATRIOT AC

TRANSCRIPT

Sen. Rand Paul: Tonight begins the process of ending bulk collection. The bill will ultimately pass but we always look for silver linings. I think the bill may be replacing one form of bulk collection with another, but the government after this bill passes will no longer collect your phone records. My concern is that the phone companies still may do the same thing.

Currently, my understanding is the N.S.A. Is at the phone company sucking up the phone records and sending them to Utah. My concern is under the new program, that the records will still be sucked up into N.S.A. Computers but the computers will be at the phone company, not in Utah.

So the question is, will it be a distinction without a difference? The question also will be, will this be individualized? One of the things about the Fourth Amendment that was the biggest part of the Fourth Amendment for our founding fathers was that a warrant should be individualized. General warrants were what we fought the revolution over.

James Otis fought a famous case in the 1760’s and he found against the British soldiers writing their own warrants. The interesting thing is part of the PATRIOT Act allows our police to write their own warrants. We have something called national security letters. These have been done by the hundreds of thousands.

Interestingly, when the president was in the senate, he was opposed to national security letters and said that they should have judicial warrants. Now it’s kind of interesting that in this bill that will pass – it’s supported by the president, supported by the Director of National Intelligence and now supported in a wide bipartisan fashion.

It concerns me that the president that supports the bulk data collection and has been performing it illegally for six years now supports this bill the devil’s in the details and the question is, will the new bill still allow bulk collection by the phone companies? Will they be able to put into the search engine not an individual for whom we have suspicion but an entire corporation? This is what was revealed when we saw the warrant that was revealed that had Verizon’s name on it.

We had the Director of National Intelligence come before the American people, come before Congress, swear under oath that they weren’t doing this. Part of my problem with the intelligence gathering in our country is it’s hard for me to have trust. It’s hard for me to have trust in the people that we’re giving great power to.

They also insist that we won’t be able to catch terrorists. They insist that the bulk collection allowed them to catch terrorists. But then it turned out when it was investigated, when we looked at the classified documents, when the president’s bipartisan privacy and civil liberties commission looked at this, when his review board looked at this and then when the Department of Justice Inspector General looked at this, they all found that there was no unique data, there was no great discovery, there was no great breaking up of a terrorist ring.

People have brought up the Boston bomber, the Tsarnaev boy. They said we need the PATRIOT Act after the bombing to get his phone records. That’s the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard. He’s already committed a bombing. In fact, I think he was dead at the point, and you’re saying we couldn’t get a warrant to look at his phone records? It’s absolutely absurd.

I had a meeting with somebody from the intelligence community about six months ago and I asked them this question – how do you get more information about terrorists, with a warrant with their name on it where you can go as deep into the details as you want, or this met data collection that uses a – this metadata collection that uses a less than Constitutional standard?

And he said, without question you get more information with a warrant than you do through the metadata. When someone commits an act of atrocity, there’s no question we would get a warrant. But I would go even further. I would say that I want to get more warrants on people before they blow things up.

I would say that we need more money spent on F.B.I. agents analyzing data and trying to find out who we have suspicion for so we can investigate their records. I think we spend so much money on people for whom there is no suspicion that we don’t have enough time and money left to go after the people who would actually harm us.

The people who argue that the world will end and we will be overrun by jihadists tonight are trying to use fear. They want to take just a little bit of your liberty but they get it by making you afraid. They want you to fear and give up your liberty. They tell you if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. That’s a far cry from the standard we were founded upon – innocent until proven guilty.

One of the objections that I tried to bring forward earlier but was interrupted repeatedly was that the PATRIOT Act was originally intended to go after foreigners and terrorists. We allowed a less than Constitutional standard. We didn’t ask for probable cause. We just said it had to be event, the information had to be relevant to an investigation into terrorists.

Here’s one of the problems, one of the big problems I have with the PATRIOT Act. We now use parts of the PATRIOT Act to arrest people for domestic crime. Section 213 “Sneak and peek” where the government can come into your house, place listening devices and never announce that they were ever in your house and then leave and then monitor your behavior and never let you know they’ve been there, is being used 99.5% of the time for domestic crime.

So little by little, we’ve allowed our freedom to slip away. We allow the Fourth Amendment to be diminished. We allowed the narrowing loss of something called probable cause. People say well, how would we get terrorists with that? The vast majority of warrants are approved in our country.

The vast majority of warrants that are Fourth Amendment warrants where we individualize them, put a name on and ask probable cause, if the police tonight are looking for a rapist or a murderer, they will go to the house, and if they suspect they’re inside but nothing is imminently happening, they will stand on the curb and call the police, and they almost always get a warrant.

Do you think there’s a judge in this land that would not grant a warrant, particularly after the Boston bombing, to look at the Tsarnaev boys records. There is not a judge in the land that would say no. I would say in advance there is not much chance a judge would say no, if you went to them and said the Russians have given us indication and evidence that he has been radicalized and associated overseas with people who are training to attack us.

There’s no reason why the Constitution can’t be used. But we just have to not let those who are in power make us cower in fear. They use fear to take your freedom, and we have to be very, very careful of this. Now, some are saying I’m misrepresenting this, I’m saying the government is listening to your phone calls.

I’m saying they are collecting your phone records. There are programs, though, in which they may be looking at content. Emails, for example. The current law says that after six months, even the content of your email has no protection. We have a very good piece of legislation to try to fix that, but realize those who are loud, those who are really wanting you to give up your freedom, that they don’t believe the Fourth Amendment protects your records at all, and this is a big debate.

We went to the court, the Second Court of Appeals, the highest court in the land just below the Supreme Court, said that what they are doing is illegal, but we don’t yet have a ruling on whether it’s Constitutional. One of my fears about the bill that we’re going to pass, the sort of in-between step that some think it may be better, is that it will moot the case.

This means that the court case may never get heard at the Supreme Court now. I have a court case against the N.S.A. There’s another district court that has ruled against the N.S.A. We now have an appellate court ruling against the N.S.A. The court may well look at the activity of the senate and say well, you guys have fixed the problem, we don’t need to look at it anymore, it’s no longer relevant.

My other concern about this new bill that’s going to pass is the same people will judge it that judged the previous system. These people are called the rubber stamp courtroom, also known as FISA. Realize that the FISA court is the court that said the collection of all American records is relevant. The appeals court basically laughed at this notion and said that it sort of destroys any meaning to the word relevant if you collect everybody’s records.

It’s not even a modifier. They should have instead of said relevant said you could have everyone’s records all the time. One of my other concerns about the in-between solution that we are going to choose is that some are conjecturing – you have to be suspicious of a government that often lies about their purpose.

Some are conjecturing that they’re going to collect more phone data under the new system. One of the complaints last week, as there was discussion about this, in the newspaper it was reported that really they were only collecting about 20% to 30% of your cell phone data.

They are trying to collect all of your landline data, but they weren’t for some reason collecting all of your cell phone data. One of my concerns is that as we go to this new system, they may actually be better at collecting our phone records and they may well be able to collect all of our cell phone data.

Unless we can go to a system where we individualize the warrants, unless we can go to a system where a person’s name is on the warrant, I’m going to be very, very concerned. Now, we will present amendments on this bill. We tried to negotiate to be allowed to present amendments, but there wasn’t a lot of negotiating that went on in the last week. In fact, there was none.

So we will still try, we will put amendments forward and we will try to get amendments to make I think the bulk collection less bad that’s going to occur. One of the things we would like to do is to say that when they search the phone records that they can’t put the name of a corporation in there, that they would have to put an individual’s name.

It’s kind of tricky about the way these things are worded. The wording of this bill will say that they can only put a U.S. person into the selector term to search all the phone records. The problem is that they define U.S. person as also meaning corporation or association or grouping.

So there is a little bit of looseness to the language, and so if we are still going to allow corporation, what is to stop them from going back and putting AT&T or Verizon in the selection and then once again they are looking at all the phone records, and all we have done is transferred the phone records from government control in Utah to phone company control in another location.

Will we be trading bulk collection in Utah for bulk collection under the phone company? Now, there are good people who believe this bill will reform, and I think they are well intended. I think there are good people who really think we will end bulk collection and it won’t happen. My fear, though, is that the people who interpret this work at a place known as the rubber stamp factory over at FISA. It’s a secret court and it’s a court in which 99.5% of the time they approve warrants. Warrants are simply rubber stamped over there. In fact, they prove that relevant meant all of your records. My question is if they put AT&T in the selector item, will we once again have the same thing, just in a different location?

I have several amendments that I’m interested in if we were to be able to amend the bill. One of the amendments would say the selector; the search would have to be an individual, which I think is more consistent with the Fourth Amendment. Another one would change the standard to the constitutional standard, which would be that it has to be probable cause, which is a higher standard than simply saying it’s relevant. Then we would actually be sending a new signal to the FISA court another amendment I have which I think would go a long way towards making the PATRIOT Act less bad, I think is the best way to put it, would be to say that any information gathered under a less than constitutional standard could only be used for foreigners and terrorists.

See, that was the promise, and at the time there were people who opposed the PATRIOT Act. Not enough but there were a few. And when they opposed the PATRIOT Act, they said the fear was that it would be used against American citizens. And they said oh, no, no, we’re only going after terrorists, but the law allows them to do it. We now have sections of the PATRIOT Act in which 99.5% of the time it’s being used for domestic crime.

We have also seen that the Drug Enforcement Agency, it is alleged, is using information gathered under the PATRIOT Act to then go back and re-create cases against people for domestic crime. The question we have to ask ourselves is are we really willing – are we so frightened that we’re willing to give up our freedoms? Are we willing to trade liberty for security?

The U.S. Court of Appeals I think had some great points that they made when they used against the government, and I think what’s important to know is that the president has continued to do this illegally. You’ve seen him on television. The president has been saying well, Congress is just getting in the way, if Congress would just do their job and get rid of this, everything would be okay. But the truth of the matter is Congress never authorized this. Even the authors of the PATRIOT Act said that this was not something that Congress ever even contemplated.

The court is now saying that as well. This was done by the Executive Branch. Admittedly, both the Republican Executive Branch and Democratic Executive Branch, but this wasn’t created by Congress. So when the president says well, Congress should just do this, the question that’s never been asked by anyone in the media is why doesn’t he stop it. Everybody that has given advice has said he would, he will come out and say he believes in a balanced solution, but he really is just abdicating the solution and has never discontinued the program.

Even when he has been told explicitly by the court that the program is an illegal program. This is what the U.S. Court of Appeals says in the case A.C.L.U. versus Clapper. We agree with the appellants that such an expansive concept of relevance is unprecedented and unwarranted. The records demanded are not those of suspects under investigation or even of people or businesses that have had contact with suspects or of people or businesses that have had contacts with others who have had contact, so even two steps removed, we’re gathering records that are completely irrelevant to the investigation. We’re gathering up the records of innocent Americans.

Now, the other side will say well, we’re not looking at them. So I have been thinking about this. Our founders objected to the British soldiers writing warrants. They objected to them coming in their house and gathering their papers. Do you think our framers would have been happy if the British government said okay, we’re just breaking your door down, we’re just getting your papers, but we’re not going to look at them?

Do you think that would have changed the mindset of the framers? So the fact that they say they’re not looking at our records is that any comfort or should it be comfort, the act of violation is in taking your records. The act of violation is in allowing the police or a form of the police, the F.B.I. to write warrants that are not signed by a judge.

The court goes on to say the interpretation that the government asks us to adopt defies any limiting principle. The idea of a limiting principle when the court looks at things is that the way I see it, it’s a difference between something being arbitrary where there is no sort of principle that confines what can happen. If you have a law that has no limiting principle, it’s essentially arbitrary.

This is what Hayek wrote about when he wrote in the Road to Serfdom. He wrote about the difference between the rule of law and arbitrary and having an arbitrary interpretation of the law. The danger to having an arbitrary interpretation of the law and the danger to having general warrants is that they have been used in the past with bias. People have brought their own bias into this. In the 1960’s, the bias was against civil rights activists, it was against Vietnam War

In the 1940’s, the bias was in incarcerating and in interning Japanese Americans. But the thing that was consistent in all of these is that there was a generalization, generalization based on the color of your skin, whether you were Asian American or African-American, and also about the shade of your ideology. There is a danger in allowing the government to generalize without suspicion and to disobey the Fourth Amendment, and that danger comes that a government could one day generalize and bias could enter into things.

We have on our records right now laws that allow an American citizen to be detained. It’s not specifically part of the PATRIOT Act, but it’s along the same lines of this, that you’re getting rid of a process, the due process amendments and the ability of the Bill of Rights to protect the individual. When we allow an individual to be detained without a trial, what happens is there is the possibility that someone could decide we don’t like those people, and when you say well, that could never happen, think about the times in our history when it has. Richard Jewel, everybody said he was the Olympic bomber.

He was convicted on TV. Within hours, people said Richard Jewel’s guilty. Think about if he had been a black man in 1920 in the south what might have happened to him. Think about the possibility for bias entering into our government. Think about the fact what Madison said about government is. Madison said that, “we restrain government because we’re worried that government may not be comprised of angels. If government were comprised of angels we wouldn’t have to worry about restraining government.”

Patrick Henry said that the Constitution was about restraining government, not the people. It’s not enough for people to say, oh, I’m a good man or I’m a good person, or the N.S.A. would never do this. The other problem that makes us doubtful is that the N.S.A. hasn’t been honest with us. If they wanted to develop trust again, the president should have immediately let go the person who lied to us, the Director of National Intelligence.

The appeals court concluded by saying that the government’s bulk collection of telephone metadata, metadata exceeds the scope of what Congress has authorized and therefore violates Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act. Some will try to argue that this debate was not worth the time we took on it. I cooperate disagree more. I’m like everybody else, you know, I prize my time with my family and being at home object the weekends. And I wish we would have done this in a more sensitive way where we had had more time hand and had an open amendment process.

But we waited until the end, we waited until the final deadline. And this is a characteristic of government and it’s a flaw in government, frankly. We lurch from deadline to deadline. People wonder why Congress is so unpopular. It’s because we go from deadline to deadline and then it’s hurry up, we have no time to debate, you must pass it as is.

The biggest debate against amendments is – and it finally convinced even the people who didn’t like this. They so much dislike amendments and slowing down the process that they’re just going to take it even though they don’t like it, we’ll pass what the house passed and it’s unlikely any amendments will pass. About but the thing is we need to get away from lurching from deadline to deadline. What happens with budget or spending or any of these bills is we’re presented with thousand-page bills with only hours to go.

About a year ago this came up and at that time we were presented with a thousand-page bill with two hours to go and I read the Senate rules and it said we’re supposed to be presented with the bill for 48 hours in advance. So I raised my hand and made a motion. And the motion I made was, guys, we’re breaking the rules here. Men and women, we’re breaking the rules here.

So everyone just voted to amend the rules for that bill and ignore the rules. This is why the American people are so frustrated. People here in town think I’m making a huge mistake. Some of them I think secretly want there to be an attack on the United States so they can blame it on me. One of the people in the media the other day came up to me and said, oh, when there’s a great attack aren’t you going to feel guilty you caused this attack?

It’s like the people who attack us are responsible for attacks on us. Do we blame the police chief for the attack of the Boston bombers? The thing is that there can be attacks even if we use the Constitution, but there have been attacks while collecting your bulk data. So the ones who say when an attack occurs it’s going to be all your fault, are any of them willing to accept the blame, we have bulk collection now, are any of them willing to accept the blame for the Boston bombing, for the recent shooting in Garland?

No, but they’ll be the first to point fingers and say, oh, yeah it’s all your fault, we never should have given up on this great program. I’m completely convinced that we can obey the Constitution, use the Fourth Amendment as intended, spirit and letter of the law, and catch terrorists. When we look objectively at this program, when they analyzed the classified information they found that there was no unique data.

We had to fight them tooth and nail because they started out saying 52 cases were cracked by the bulk data program. But when when this president’s bipartisan commission looked at it, it turned out none of that was true. This gets back to the trust issue. If we’re going to be lied to by the Director of National Intelligence, it’s hard for us to believe them when they come forward and they say, oh, this is protecting us, we have to have it.

But what we’re hearing is, information from someone who really didn’t think it was a big deal to lie to us about whether or not the program even existed. Mark my words, the battle’s not over. There are some – and I talked with one of the – I would say one of the smarter people in Silicon Valley who knows this from an intimate level how things work and how the codes and programs work, and he maintains that the bulk collection of phone data is the tip of the iceberg.

That there’s more information in other data pools that are classified, some of this is done through an Executive Order called 12333. I’m not sure I know everything in it. I’ve had no briefings on it. Anything I tell you is from the newspaper alone. But the thing is that I would like to know, are we also collecting your credit card information, are we collecting your texts, are we collecting your emails?

They’ve already told us the Fourth Amendment doesn’t protect your emails. Even the content after six months. They’ve told you the Fourth Amendment doesn’t apply to your records at all. So be very careful about the people who say trust us, we’ll never violate your freedoms. We’ll never take advantage of things. The president’s privacy and civil liberties oversight board’s conclusion was that Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act has known minimal value in safeguarding the nation from terrorism.

We not have identified a single instance involving a threat to the United States in which the program made a concrete difference in the outcome. The president’s privacy board went on to say the government’s collection of a person’s entire telephone calling history has a significant and detrimental effect on individual privacy.

When they talked about whether or not the phone records were relevant to an investigation, the president’s commission said this, “First the telephone records acquired under the program have no connection to any specific F.B.I. Investigation at the time of their collection.

Second, because the records are collected in bulk, potentially encompassing all telephone calling records across the nation, they cannot be regarded as relevant to any F.B.I. Investigation. Here’s the continuing danger to us, though. It is I think maybe a minor success we’ll prevent the government from collecting these records. But realize that the interpretation of this will still occur in secret in the FISA court and that this is the FISA court that said that collecting everyone’s records was relevant.

It completely destroys the notion that the word “Relevant” has any meaning at all. This will be the question, whether or not we can trust the FISA court to make an interpretation that is at a higher degree of discernment than the one in which they said relevant can mean anything. The court of the original U.S. Freedom Act as patches by the House Committee was a better bill and has gradually watered down until even the Director of National Intelligence, the one who lied about the program, now supports it which gives me some misgivings.

But the records that will be collected, the question is how will we have an interpretation by the FISA court. The original bill that had an advocate, and I thought this was a good part of the original bill. There would be a judicial advocate who would argue on the side of those who are having their records taken. And so there would be an adversarial court, lawyers on both sides. Many people who write about jurisprudence and trying to find justice say one of the essential functions of a court system in order to find justice is that there has to be a lawyer on both sides. There has to be an advocate on both sides. The truth isn’t always easy to find.

The truth is presentation of facts by one side; presentation of contrary by the other side, and someone has to figure out which facts are more believable or which facts trump other facts. And so I think a judicial advocate would have been good. There’s still going to have it, they call it by a different name now but it will be optional at the discretion of the FISA court. So the court that ruled that all of your records are relevant now will have a choice as to whether or not to give you an advocate.

That doesn’t give me a great deal of comfort. There are other ways we could do this. We occasionally do look at terrorism cases in regular federal court. And when names come up that could jeopardize someone’s safety and our intelligence agency or a secret, federal courts can go into secret assess. I’ve heard the Senator from Oregon often mention this and I think it’s a great point. That no one wants to reveal the names of anyone o",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T20:17:17Z