Republican Senator Rand Paul is out with his annual Festivus report, detailing how much taxpayer money the federal government wasted throughout the year.
"This year, I am highlighting a whopping $482,276,543,907 of waste, including a steroid-induced hamster fight club, a study to see if kids love their pets, and a study of the romantic patterns of parrots. No matter how much money’s already been wasted, politicians keep demanding even more," Paul states in the report. "As always, 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. So before we get to the Feats of Strength, it’s time for my Airing of (spending) Grievances!"
The list of waste includes using COVID relief funds to construct an 11,000 square foot spa, using COVID relief funds to purchase luxury cars, unused hotel rooms for illegal immigrants, studying the romance between parrots, studying the social life and collective intelligence of ants, using mice to study racial aggression and much more.
"As if spending your money to research how humans feel and express love may sound ridiculous enough, the government is now funding research to see how parrots express love," the report found. "In fact, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) granted Cornell University $689,222 to study social communication in parrots, studying patterns such as social outcomes, if they kiss, and how males make sexual advances."
This marks the eighth edition of the #Festivus Report as I continue working to alert the American people to how their federal government uses their hard-earned money. Read it here: https://t.co/JeLZjzzDxG pic.twitter.com/eGQIaiGG6i
— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) December 23, 2022
Good morning everyone and welcome to everyone’s favorite holiday - #Festivus! pic.twitter.com/g8xM8QER9y
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) December 23, 2022
The report comes less than 24-hours after the Senate, with help from Republicans, passed a monstrous $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill packed with pork. It also passed in the House.
I attempted to hold both parties accountable by forcing votes on these rules but per usual, a majority in the Senate - including Republicans - chose to run up the debt, ignore our own budget rules, and abuse your tax dollars. The American people don’t want this.
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) December 22, 2022
I wonder how long it would take the clerk to read this… pic.twitter.com/iaphBzTEsS
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) December 20, 2022