Sen. Rand Paul’s 2023 ‘Festivus’ Report Exposes $900 Billion in Government Waste

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) speaks during the COVID Federal Response Hearing on Capitol Hill on
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Amy Furr

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on Friday shared his annual “Festivus” report, showing Americans how their tax dollars were tossed down the drain in 2023.

Paul’s report totaled $900,000,000,000 in government waste, his office said in the press release, adding it was his ninth edition.

The announcement said:

Some of the highlights include the National Institutes of Health spending a portion of a $2.7 million grant to study Russian cats walking on a treadmill and Barbies used as proof of ID for receiving COVID Paycheck Protection Program funds. The Department of Defense ruined over $169 million worth of military equipment by leaving it outside, the United States Agency for International Development spent $6 million to promote tourism in Egypt, and the Small Business Administration gave ‘struggling’ music artists like Post Malone, Chris Brown, and Lil Wayne over $200 million.

In his report, Paul said the previous year the national debt hit $30 trillion. It is now climbing toward $34 trillion. He then spoke about who was to blame for the mountain of debt:

Everybody. This year, members of both parties in Congress voted to raise the debt ceiling, which empowered the government to borrow an unlimited amount of money until 2024. As Congress spends to reward its favored industries and pet projects, the American taxpayers are forced to pay the price through record high inflation and crippling interest rates. The same big spenders teamed up, yet again, to continue sending Americans’ hard-earned money to foreign countries and funding endless wars, all while ignoring our porous southern border.

“As always, taking the path to fiscal responsibility is often a lonely journey, but, as I’ve done in years past, I will continue my fight against government waste this holiday season,” Paul told citizens.

Video footage shows what appears to be the “Putin-run cat lab” with cats walking on treadmills:

The White Coat Waste Project said it “exposed how NIH sent $770K to a Putin-run cat lab. Then, we united Biden & Congress to DEFUND it & ALL other Russian animal labs! It’s the 1st time that $ has been cut for an entire nation’s animal labs!”

Paul’s “Festivus” report from December 2022 said there had been $482,276,543,907 in government waste, according to Breitbart News.

In a social media post Saturday, Paul aired his own grievances and said, “Everyone thinks I’ll start with Dr. Fauci. Well, you’re right. After almost 3 solid years of lying and deception, my one and only wish for Dr. Fauci this Christmas is that he can send this Christmas song to someone he loves very soon.”

His post referenced a John Prine song titled “Christmas in Prison.”

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