Rand Paul airs Festivus grievances: ‘Your government is out of control’

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) railed against government spending in his annual Festivus grievances report, saying Washington is “out of control.” 

The report from Paul, which is used to berate the government for what he says is high spending on a litany of issues, sounded the alarm over funding for health care, foreign aid and more, adding that the trend would send the national debt spiraling.

“It is more important than ever for Congress to find its fiscal backbone. Our debt puts at risk the long-term solvency of major programs such as Social Security. And why? To pay for test tubes for COVID tests that turn out to be soda bottles? To see if hot tubbing a few times a week eases stress? Or is the risk worth it so we can literally lose drones over Afghanistan?!? You’ll find all that, and more, in this year’s edition of my Festivus Report, highlighting $54,746,524,505.37 of totally wasted money,” he wrote, citing government studies that have been funded.

Paul specifically aired his grievances over the recently passed coronavirus relief and government funding package that totaled $2.3 trillion. The Kentucky Republican, a longtime fiscal conservative, noted that the bill was introduced hours before a vote and included funding for projects in countries across the world like Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

“Congress passed a nearly 5,600 page bill that was written in secret, put in public 6 hours before the vote, and read by NOT ONE person in the body. Not. One. We will spend all week and probably longer trying to figure out all that was wrong with it,” he tweeted. 

Congress passed a nearly 5,600 page bill that was written in secret, put in public 6 hours before the vote, and read by NOT ONE person in the body. Not. One. We will spend all week and probably longer trying to figure out all that was wrong with it. But we have a few already…

— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) December 23, 2020

The report is the sixth edition Paul has released.

Paul has built a career in the Senate on railing against government spending and foreign interventions and has criticized the price tags of must-pass legislation. He most recently voted this week against the $2.3 trillion package to combat the coronavirus and fund the government until October.

Festivus was popularized in a 1997 “Seinfeld” episode focusing on the secular holiday.