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Sen. Rand Paul was joined by House Democrats in a literal treasure hunt through the Capitol Thursday in search of House Republicans Obamacare replacement bill. They didnt find it.

It was a rare bipartisan stunt, inspired by the unusual secrecy surrounding the GOPs bill. On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported the bill was being kept in a reading room in the Capitol and only available for members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and their staff to read, in an attempt to avoid leaks to the press.

Paul announced on Twitter that he was heading to the secure location where the bill was being held, and soon drew a sizable gaggle of reporters and cameras.

When Paul finally entered the room, it was empty the bill had, reportedly, been moved.

But House Democrats couldnt let a good messaging opportunity go to waste. A number of them joined what quickly became a hunt through the Capitol for the bill, with lawmakers trailing reporters as they poked their heads into random offices to see if they could find the bill. New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone poked his head into Majority Leader Kevin McCarthys office to see if it was in there.

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi tweeted a photo of bloodhounds on the hunt at Paul in support of his search, which Paul retweeted.

In an impromptu press conference outside of House leaderships offices, Paul likened the move to hide the bill to Democrats handling of Obamacare in 2009.

If you recall where Obamacare was passed in 2009, 2010, Nancy Pelosi said well know whats in it after we pass it. The Republican Party shouldnt act in the same way, Paul said.

This is being presented as if it were a national secret, as it if it were a plot to invade another country thats wrong. It should be done openly in the public. And conservatives who have objections that dont want Obamacare-lite should be able to see the bill.

Paul is one of a significant numberof conservatives in both the House and the Senate who panned the House GOPs Obamacare alternative when an early draft was leaked last week, making it a non-starter for Republicans. Theyre trying to avoid a similar situation with the final draft by orchestrating a quick turnaround from the time the release the bill, to marking it up, to bringing it to the floor for a vote.

And though Republicans planned to unveil the bill on the Hill this week, the rollout has been delayed as staffers put some final touches on the policy to make it more politically palatable and less costly.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, of Texas, told reporters that there in fact was no final bill. While the broad contours of the policy have been written, he said staffers are still making tweaks to it.

We dont have a bill. We continue to work with the [Congressional Budget Office] and our members on the final policy decisions, he said.

Brady had met with Senate Republicans Wednesday to brief them on the final bill and try to assuage concerns of some of the Senates more conservative members, like Paul and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, both of whom have said they cant support the draft House healthcare bill. Brady seemed to hint that, even with staffers tweaking the bill to appease conservatives, its future in the Senate was uncertain.

Asked whether he felt all of the Senate Republicans were on-board with the legislation, Brady said only, Youll have to ask them. I felt very good about the discussion.

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Where's the health care bill? - VICE News

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Conservative Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul announced Friday his staff and his copy machine, which now has its own Twitter handle, continued their search for the draft of the House Obamacare repeal bill.

The quest to find the secret bill hidden in a secret location kicked off Thursday, when Paul trekked over to the House side of the Capitol to find the incomplete measure and make it public. Themove sparkedascavenger hunt among House Democrats who decided to continue Pauls efforts to track down the legislation and post the quest on social media.

Paul accused House members of lacking transparency while constructing the bill, alleging they are crafting the bill in the same way Democrats put together the Affordable Care Act. Paul said the media has been able to obtain leaked versions of the bill while members have not had access.

Hisstaff took pictures of the copy machine he planned to use to distribute the draft in front of different areas of the Capitol and posted them on social media. He has been highly critical of the initial leaked copy of the bill, which was obtained by Politicoin February, for its language on tax credits.

Members on the House Committee on Ways and Means and House Committee on Energy and Commerce noted they are still going through the process of crafting the bill, which will be made available shortly. GOP lawmakers on Ways and Means are set to stay through the weekend to continue to hash out the details.

Energy and Commerce Committee members are still working on their portions of the bill this the reason why its not ready for prime time. This is routine, A GOP aide told The Daily Caller News Foundation. The committee has held hearings and is working through the nitty gritty internally before noticing markup. As committees do. Its confusing why this wouldnt be expected. The timeline has always been March/before the Easter recess. Were right on schedule.

The bill is expected to marked up in committees next week.

Senator Paul is determined to get a copy of the bill and share it with the American people. We are hoping @RandPaulCopier can make enough copies for all those interested in reviewing Obamacare Lite. Pauls Communications Director Sergio Gor told TheDCNF in a statement.

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Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [emailprotected].

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Rand Paul's Copy Machine Goes On Tour Of Capitol - Daily Caller

Sen Rand Paul (R-Ky.)expressed his disapproval for the idea that the United States needs to engage any further in the habit of nation building during a foreign relations committee hearing on Tuesday.

Discussingthe future of Americas stabilization efforts in Iraq with Senior Fellow of the Center for American Progress Hardin Lang, Paul questioned our need to continue spending money in Iraq any longer. Lang was discussing ideas for short term projects, but Paul was wondering if Lang had a different definition of short term than he did.

Having been thereten years, so weve given quite a bit aid. Its hard to argue that a little bit of short term assistance is not on top of a trillion dollars worth of nation building, both military and non-military, said Paul. Weve spent a lot of money over there.

Theyre not a destitute country, added Paul. They have oil, and by golly they aught to rebuild their own country. We can be of some help stabilizing things, but it isnt our responsibility to rebuild everybodys country.

Paul pointed out that the U.S. itself is in $20 trillion worth of debt, and that its about time to stop bridge building everywhere but in our own country.

Look, Ive got a bridge thats 50 years old in my state Id like to replace, said Paul. Weve built and bombed so many bridges around the world we dont have any money left for ourselves.

Americas financialinvestments in other nations dwarfs spending on its own shores in many situations. In fact, NextCity.org pointed out in 2013 just how much money flows to other countries from the U.S. vs a city like Detroit. The difference range from $20 million more, to billions.

If much of this money used to improve nations overseas were used here, the differences would likely be astronomical.

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Rand Paul: It isn't our responsibility to rebuild everybody's country ... - TheBlaze.com

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the Republican Senator from Kentucky,Rand Paul, has tweeted out that he is currently being blocked by armed guards from viewing new, and the secretly kept Obamacare bill.

It was hours earlier that Paul tweeted that he heard that the Obamacare bill, being touted as Obamacare-lite by critics, is under lock & key, in a secure location, & not available for me or the public to view.

The liberty minded Senator did not take kindly to this information and made his intention to share the bill with the public clear in another tweet.

Upon his arrivalat aHouse hideaway in the Capitol, Paul claimed he was told he could not remove the bill and make it public. The Senator then held an impromptu press conference for media complaining about House Republicans lack of transparency, reportsPolitico.

Reports also came in that Paul brought a copy machine with him, presumably to make copies of the bill to share with anyone whod listen.

Politicoreports thatPaul had an exchange with a staffer as he tried to make off with the draft bill, which could be voted on later this month.

I said I liked to get a copy and they said no go. She wouldnt tell us anything really, Paul said in an interview afterward. Even if I were allowed to look at it, which it didnt look like I was, how is that democracy?

Republican aides said they believed the room on the first floor of the Capitol is being used for Energy and Commerce members to read the bill. Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), a committee member, said he was also not able to read the bill and was told it was not available, explainsPolitico.

Its literally illegal in my state to do that, Paul said in the interview. You can understand for national security why we do it. But for goodness sakes for a healthcare bill? Its crazy.

The battle for transparency is likely a case that will leave those who want honest repeal of Obamacare completed, either an entire replacement of the legislationor a complete scrapping of it, not a watered down Obamacare-lite version which would keep key provisions of the old bill.

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Rand Paul Blocked By Armed Guards From New Obamacare Bill - The Libertarian Republic

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Fools Errand: Your junior Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul went on a bit of a tear yesterdayafter learning House Republicans had a draft of repeal/replace Affordable Care Act legislation tucked away, says The Hill.

Bloomberg released a report on Wednesday, saying the bill would be available for the House Energy and Commerce panel on Thursday, but only in a private reading room. No copies allowed.

Frustrated, Sen. Paul took to twitter:

Thats just a few of them. He went on for a while. And I imagined that tweet storm followed by some stewing in his office, working himself up, because just overan hour later, he could simmer no longer:

And so he went to the find the bill, says the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, CNN and The Huffington Post, making the jaunt over armed with only his wits and a copy machine on a dolly.

Even Sen. Nancy Pelosi cheered him on.

Strange bedfellows and all of that.

Soon,others joined in the hunt. Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey and Rep. Jan Schakowski of Illinois searched high and low, to no avail.

But Sen. Paul had a leg up on his Amazing Race competitors he at least knew the room number where the bill was being held.

He knocked. Asked to see the bill. They said, no. And he turned to face the cameras with appropriate outrage.

And that, my friends, is how you perform a media stunt.

I wonder if on his way over with his copy machine, hes thinking, You know, if they let me in and all the cameras are there, Im actually going to have to make copies of this thing

Speaking to reporters in front of the door, Sen. Paul said:

We dont know if its 1,000 pages, 1,500 pages, but we know were not given access to read it, and I think thats a problem.

Im not waiting until after it passes to find out whats in Obamacare the new replacement bill.

House Speaker Paul Ryan says thats not whats happening. He told NBCs Today show:

Were not hatching some bill in a backroom and plopping it on the American peoples front door.

Which is one of those denials that sounds a lot like an admission.

Hey, where have you been? I waited for you. I wasnt with anyone, if thats what you think. Well, if I didnt before

What little is known doesnt go far enough for Sen. Paul and his more conservative allies. Theyll be satisfied with nothing less than full repeal with replacement coming in right behind. They worry too much of the Affordable Care Act remains. Democrats, of course, may want to see a tweak here and there, but would prefer to see the legislation continue. Others still favor a more tempered, methodical approach.

Which means, maybe eight people are going to like this bill. Eight to ten.

Follow Up: President Donald Trump gave an address to Congress on Tuesday and giving the response for the Democrats: none other than former Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, says CBS News, CNN and ABC News.

Heres the full response:

For those who may not be as familiar with the former governoras we are, CNN asks Who is Steve Beshear? Well, I can help you out a little: That guy? Aint him.

Bustle goes one further, asking, Who is Andy Beshear? Steve Beshears Son has a political career of his own. Also, not him.

And Bustle again asks, Who is Steve Beshears Father? And closer, but still not him.

Likely the most compelling reason Democrats went with Beshear centers around the debate surrounding the future of the Affordable Care Act, as demonstrated in Sen. Pauls crusade above. Under Beshears tenure as governor, Kentuckys ACA exchange, Kynect, was heralded as a national model for the program.

President Trump mentioned Kentucky and Gov. Matt Bevin in his speech, saying:

Governor Matt Bevin of Kentucky just said Obamacare is failing in his state it is unsustainable and collapsing.

Gov. Bevin dismantled Kynect last year, transitioning to the federal program, so part of why it might not be working as well could be a natural result of him working so hard to get rid of it. This car is worthless. It just wont run. I mean, I know I took out the engine and transmission, but still. Worthless.

Mr. Beshears response:

You and your Republican allies in Congress seem determined to rip affordable health insurance away from millions of Americans who most need it.

This isnt a game, its life and death for people. These ideas promise access to care but deny the importance of making care affordable and effective. They would charge families more for fewer benefits and put the insurance companies back in control.

[Those benefiting from the ACA] arent aliens from a distant planet. Theyre our friends and neighbors.

Theres Always Next Year: Its not even been a week since the big Oscars telecast, which wait. Did you see that on Sunday? For the few of you who might not have, this happened at the end of the broadcast for the biggest award of the night.

Anytime you see stage management or a bunch of people with headsets rushing about the stage, something has gone wrong.

For my money, that third producer is in the weirdest spot. The first two dont know any better yet, but by the time its his turn, they know thats not their award, but he still has to talk. Which also begs the question: If the first producer, Jordan Horowitz, hadnt said anything, what would they have done? Would they have just gone off the air?

So as the fallout from Sunday night settles, the loathed E!already is looking ahead to next year, with early favorites for the 2018 award. For Best Actress theyre eyeing Emma Stone and Jennifer Lawrence in two yet-to-be-released films. Ms. Stone, this years winner for La La Land, will play tennis legend Billie Jean King opposite Steve Carell in Battle of the Sexes. Ms. Lawrence will star in mother! helmed by Darren Aronofsky, with whom shes now romantically linked.

So look for Ms. Lawrence back at the show in 2018, though according to Variety, there are a couple of people who wont be able to join her: Brian Cullinan and Martha Ruiz, the two accountants from Price Waterhouse responsible for handing out the award envelopes.

See you next week.

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In Other News Rand Paul on the hunt, Beshear responds to president's address, Lawrence eyes 2018 Oscar nod - Insider Louisville