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U.S. Sen. Rand Paul blocked the Senate from passing a $40 billion aid package for Ukraine this week, derailing a plan to fast-track legislationhis fellow Kentuckian, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, supported.

Paul wanted a provision added into the bill that would assign an inspector general to oversee how these billions are spent. When that didn't happen, he objected and effectively forced the Senate to wait until next week to vote on the aid for Ukraine because of procedural rules.

McConnell and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer actually were working together to try to get the aid approved Thursday.

Related: Rand Paul's comments on Russian invasion criticized as echoing Putin's point on Ukraine

Theywere willing to let senators vote separately on Paul's proposed amendment, which would have needed 60 votes to pass, rather than add it directly into the aid package before senators vote to approveit.

That wasn't good enough for Paul.

"My oath of office is to the U.S. Constitution, not to any foreign nation. And no matter how sympathetic the cause, my oath of office is to the national security of the United States," he said on the Senate floor Thursday afternoon.

Politics: Download the Courier Journal's app to get Kentucky political news first

Paul, who has long been skeptical of U.S. military involvement in and foreign aid forother nations, criticized the billions of dollars the U.S. has spent on Ukraine, both since Russia invaded the nation in February and in past years.

"With a $30 trillion debt, America can't afford to be the world's policeman," he said.

McConnell publicly urged his fellow Republican senator from Kentucky to change course to no avail.

More coverage: Only one lawmaker voted against all recent legislation aimed at Russia. He's from Kentucky

Speaking on the Senate floor Thursday, McConnell recommended Paulaccept the compromise being offered: Let senators vote separately on his proposed amendment, and then passthe aid package for Ukraine so they could get this done by the end of the day. (The House of Representatives already approved the aid, and if the Senate amended the bill it would have required another vote in the House.)

"Ukraine is not asking us to fight this war. They're only asking for the resources they need to defend themselves against this deranged invasion, and they need this help right now," McConnellsaid. "This conflict has direct and major consequences for America's national security and America's national interest."

Schumer derided Paul's intransigence in his own speech on the Senate floor, noting that "the vast majority" of Democratic and Republican senators support the aid package.

"There is now only one thing holding us back. The junior senator from Kentucky is preventing swift passage of Ukraine aid because he wants to add, at the last minute, his own changes directly into the bill. His change is strongly opposed by many members from both parties," he said Thursday of Paul. "He is simply saying: 'My way, or the highway.'

"When you have a proposal to amend a bill, you can't just come to the floor and demand it by fiat. You have to convince other members to back it first. That is how the Senate works."

Paul didn't budge.

More on Rand Paul: Rand Paul delayed the historic Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson vote, and people were not happy

He defended his move on Twitter Thursday night, saying: "All I requested is an amendment to be included in the final bill that allows for the Inspector General to oversee how funds are spent. Anyone who is opposed to this is irresponsible."

"Passing this bill brings the total weve sent to Ukraine to nearly $54 billion over the course of two months," he continued."Its threatening our own national security, and its frankly a slap in the face to millions of taxpayers who are struggling to buy gas, groceries, and find baby formula."

Donald Trump Jr., the son of former President Donald Trump, backed Paul up on Twitter, saying Friday: "(Rand Paul)simply wanted an inspector general to oversee how $40 billion of your taxpayer dollars are being spent in Ukraine and the swamp went nuts. They dont want transparency because its one giant kickback to their friends and Big War."

Morgan Watkins is The Courier Journal'schief political reporter. Contact her atmwatkins@courierjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter: @morganwatkins26.

Excerpt from:
Sen. Rand Paul stalls $40B in aid for Ukraine, breaking with McConnell

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:June 6, 2022Contact: Press_Paul@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343

WASHINGTON, D.C. Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY)introduced his Six Penny Plan federal budget that will balance within five years.

Five years ago, we could balance our budget with a freeze in spending without cutting anything. Since then, our debt has skyrocketed to $30 trillion with $2 trillion just from this past year, said Dr. Paul. We are now in a situation that a simple penny, two, three, or even a five pennies per-dollar reduction is insufficient to balance our budget. It requires six. We cannot keep ignoring this problem at the expense of taxpayers, and my budget will put our nation on track to solve this crisis that Congress created.

"CBO's newest budget projection illustrates the government's fiscally perilous path. Without a change of course, trillions will be added to the debt, a burden being unfairly dumped onto future generations of taxpayers. Senator Paul's Six Penny Plan approach would take smart, incremental steps towards fiscal responsibility by cutting 6 cents for every dollar of spending, while also preventing tax hikes, and making much-needed reforms to the budget and scorekeeping process, said Demian Brady, Vice President of Research at the National Taxpayers Union Foundation.

The biggest threats to national security are the national debt and out-of-control spending. There is bipartisan support in Congress to continue spending taxpayer dollars in an irresponsible fashion; however, there is no consensus on how to get our federal budget under control and address the future of entitlement programs, like Social Security. Thankfully, Senator Rand Paul is once again leading the charge with his Six Penny Plan," which will help the federal government get its finances back on track. With inflation at an all-time high, now is the time for members of Congress to reassess their spending habits and take on the national debt crisis in a serious manner, said Adam Brandon, President of FreedomWorks.

Unfortunately, the Biden Administration continues to engage in economic malpractice by restricting the development of reliable and affordable American energy and by advocating for even additional inflationary spending plans. As we face the real threat of stagflation for the first time since the Jimmy Carter era, we need a major course correction from policymakers in Washington. Senator Rand Paul should be commended for his bold approach to address our $30 trillion national debt. Sen. Pauls common sense spending reforms put taxpayers first by addressing the root cause of our national debt: overspending, said Jonathan Williams, ALEC Chief Economist and Vice President of Policy.

America is sitting on a national debt time bomb, yet most of our politicians in Washington are simply squabbling over how best to waste more of our money. But Senator Paul is one of the rare few actually working to protect Americans wallets. Senator Pauls penny plan is a long overdue, common-sense plan that would incrementally restore fiscal responsibility to our out-of-control federal budget. Anyone who cares about the next generations financial future ought to support this sensible, responsible plan, said Brad Polumbo, economics journalist and policy analyst.

Senator Rand Paul has been fighting for fiscal responsibility and raising the alarm on federal spending with his Penny Plan since 2017. Had Congress listened, then we could have a balanced budget today. Instead, weve seen Congress exacerbate inflationary pressures with unprecedented spending levels. As President of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, I thank Senator Rand Paul for this commonsense solution to the balanced budget and protect taxpayers, said David Williams, President of The Taxpayers Protection Alliance.

America is facing both an inflation crisis and a debt crisis, and theyre both being caused by Washingtons addiction to spending. Yet even with inflation over 8% and a national debt that has surpassed $30 trillion, Democrats in Congress continue to advocate for more spending, which will only make both crises worse. Fortunately, Senator Paul has introduced the Six Penny Plan, which would cut wasteful spending and put the United States on a path to a balanced budget within five years. Americans deserve a serious plan to get our fiscal house in order, and Senator Paul has delivered, said Garrett Bess, Vice President of Heritage Action.

Senator Rand Paul has long been a champion of balancing the federal budget and protecting the American taxpayer. Senator Paul has a plan that will balance the budget in five years. Interestingly, if Congress had voted for Senator Pauls plan five years ago, we would not be suffering runaway inflation, economic downturns, slowdowns, severe shortages, and empty shelves at the store. And wed be celebrating a balanced budget too! If we wait even longer to take action, we will suffer more inflation, larger and larger deficits, and more economic instability. And then it will take much larger cuts to get things back on track. So now is the time to act before the problem becomes so large that it cannot practically be fixed, said George Landrith, President of Frontiers for Freedom.

Background:

Dr. Paul offered his first balanced budget in 2011. In 2017, Dr. Paul introduced his first budget that balanced using a flexible, top-line, on-budget spending limitation. That budget was not a reduction in spending, but a simple five-year freeze. Had that budget been adopted then, the budget would have balanced this year.

By 2018, the nations fiscal imbalance had worsened. Dr. Paul again offered a budget that balanced, but now required a one penny per-dollar reduction in spending off the top-line. In his accompanying report, Dr. Paul warned of the risk that continued deficit spend would make the U.S. more vulnerable to foreign advisories and hinder our capacity to respond to emergencies. In particular, he noted inflation was how such risks would manifest. Congress ignored his warning then, and now we see an inflation rate of 8.3 percent.

In 2019, the situation was still worse. Whereas in the previous year a single penny on the dollar was required to balance, now it required two cents. Dr. Paul again offered a now Pennies Plan, which again would have balanced in just 5 years.

Since Dr. Pauls first spending freeze budget, Congress has added nearly $11 trillion to the federal debt. The annual structural deficit has more than doubled, and interest payments on the debt have grown by 32 percent. Inflation has reached a 40-year high. And now, a simple penny or two is insufficient to balance.

Now, it requires SIX pennies to balance the budget in five years.

Instead of celebrating a balanced budget this year, and again allowing spending to grow at historic norms, we are faced with a weakened and teetering economy, a prescription for our ills that is six times more dramatic than it ever had to be.

Congresss refusal to accept the responsibility to act as good stewards of American taxpayer dollars has caused our bleak financial position. Americans everywhere are feeling the effects of historical high inflation and sustaining labor and supply chain issues. Short-term political gains of the past, are in fact causing us harm now. Not to our children and grandchildren off in the future, but to us here today.

You can read the Six Penny Plan in its entirety HERE.

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Dr. Rand Paul Introduces Six Penny Plan to Balance the Federal Budget in Five Years | Senator Rand Paul - Senator Rand Paul

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul says the suspect accused of shooting and killing retired Juneau County Judge John Roemer illegally possessed the firearm used in the killing.

My understanding is he was prohibited from legally possessing a firearm based on having been convicted of a felony, so one of the issues is going to be how he was able to do that, Kaul said on WISNs UpFront, which is produced in partnership with WisPolitics.com.

Investigators say 56-year-old Douglas Uhde shot and killed Roemer inside his home before shooting himself.

Roemer sentenced Uhde to six years in prison in 2005.

Kaul said no other known connections between the two have surfaced.

The judge was one of the folks who was the target of the suspect, and the obvious connection here is that court case, Kaul said. So it certainly appears that court case was a motivating factor, if not the sole reason this happened.

A law enforcement source said Uhde had a hit list in his vehicle with as many as 13 names including Gov. Tony Evers, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

There does appear to be some sort of connection to one or more cases, Kaul said. There are some other folks who have some sort of connection to the legal process, but the overall connection to all the people, that is something we continue to assess, and thats part of what we hope to learn more about as the investigation moves forward.

Also on the show, U.S. District Judge Esther Salas from New Jersey discusses her efforts to press Congress and state legislatures to pass legislation to better protect judges.

My reaction is heartache, Salas said referring to Romers death. I just was afraid of this from the moment that my family was brutally attacked on July 19, 2020. The biggest fear Mark and I have had to date was that somebody else would die and hearing the news of Judge Roemer and his assassination opened up a wound that will never heal.

Nearly two years ago a gunman dressed like a delivery driver attempted to assassinate Salas. The former disgruntled attorney, who once appeared in her courtroom, killed her son and wounded her husband inside their New Jersey home.

Salas is now renewing her push to Congress to pass the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act.

Named after her son, the legislation would allow federal judges to remove personally identifiable information from the internet and create a grant program and incentives for states to enact laws to protect circuit court judges.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has blocked the legislation because it doesnt include members of Congress.

This is an issue that has bipartisan support, Salas said. Its bipartisan, its bicameral, and I personally have heard from many Senators both Democrats and Republicans and Independents who support this bill, so its unclear why we cant get this bill passed.

In another segment, former Republican U.S. Rep. Reid Ribble discusses a letter signed he signed urging Republicans to cooperate with the Jan. 6 committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

If in fact, theyre wanting their side of the story put out there, well go and tell it, said the former Green Bay-area congressman. If theres some alternative reality here that were not seeing and theres something different that happened that they know about that would make this look illegitimate, why dont they go ahead and provide that information to the American people so that they can hear that side of the story, but apparently theyre not wanting to do that.

More public hearings are scheduled this week.

One future hearing, committee members said, will focus on former President Trumps pressure on state legislatures to change the election results and have a group of false electors including in Wisconsin, sent to Congress.

It certainly was unscrupulous but whether it rose to the level of a crime or not, I think it was uncertain, Ribble said. I think Congress or the state of Wisconsin may respond with some election reforms that would prevent something like that from happening in the future.

See more from the show:https://www.wisn.com/upfront

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UpFront: Kaul discusses investigation into killing of retired judge - WisPolitics.com

Following Kentuckys primaries last month, Charles Booker will run for the Democratic Party against the incumbent Republican senator, Rand Paul. Despite Bookers strong campaigning and given the likely Republican leaning national environment this year, Anne M. Cizmar argues that he and other Democrats are unlikely to fare well in the Bluegrass State in this years midterm elections.

As it stands today, Democrats are expected to face heavy losses in the 2022 midterm elections. The state of Kentucky is no exception to this prediction. While much attention is focused on Kentuckys US Senate race between incumbent Rand Paul and challenger Charles Booker, the Republicans are likely to win this race along with five of the six US House of Representatives seats also up for election.

Kentucky Senate races have garnered attention from across the globe in recent years. The races are high profile because Democrats would like to unseat Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, and Kentuckys junior senator, Rand Paul. Based on his voting record, Rand Paul, facing re-election in November 2022, is regarded as one of the most conservative senators. He also is no stranger to using the filibuster to block Senate action on legislation or appointment confirmations. He has a high profile, even outside of the state.

Democrats have fielded a strong challenger against Paul. In the primary election on May 17, 2022, Democrats overwhelmingly supported Charles Booker to be Pauls Democratic challenger in the fall. Booker received 73 percent of the vote, easily beating three other candidates.

Booker is what political scientists refer to as a quality challenger because he has held previous elected office. He has served in the Kentucky House of Representatives since 2018 and shown he knows how to win an election. He is also making headlines already with his campaign. In a recent campaign ad, Charles Booker, who is the first Black Kentuckian to win the Democratic Party nomination for US Senate, directly addresses Pauls record on antilynching legislation. The ad has already garnered considerable media attention.

Pauls campaign responded to the ad pointing out the incumbent senators support of a bipartisan antilynching bill and working to clarify other past controversies about comments Paul made related to the Civil Rights Act and equating universal health care to slavery. Both campaigns have been responding to comments about the ad.

Bookers campaign emphasizes a New Deal frame as well, harkening back to a time when the Democratic Party was popular in Appalachia. He is attempting to tap into the old New Deal Democrat coalition that saw Democratic victories based on economic issues in what are now Republican areas. His message specifically targets generational poverty, an issue that can resonate in Kentucky as one of the states with the highest poverty percentage in the nation.

One additional boost to Bookers campaign is that he will not have to contend with Donald Trump on the ballot. The last time Paul was up for re-election in 2016, Trump was elected and garnered more than 62 percent of the vote in the Bluegrass state. Trump mobilized Republican voters in Kentucky, but he is not on the ballot this time. So far, the state has also not received campaign attention from Trump in this election cycle.

Still, incumbents are overwhelmingly favored to win in US congressional elections in general, and Kentucky in particular is a Republican-leaning state. This points to a likely victory for Paul in November.

The fundamentals of this race are against Democrats. Based on the current political climatethe uncertainty over the war in Ukraine, high inflation, high gas prices, continued supply chain issues, shortages on key products like baby formula, and moreDemocrats are looking at a rough 2022 midterm election cycle.

Democrats nationwide may see a boost in midterm support if the leaked Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is verified in the final court decision. The leaked decision, which would permit states to go forward with strict anti-abortion laws, has generated a good deal of Democratic activism. This may help candidates in some states. However, Kentucky is one of the most pro-life states in the US and even this issue may not help Democratic candidates in Kentucky.

The same trends also apply to gun controlanother issue that has again come to the forefront in the US after the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Voters are divided on gun control attitudes by partisan leanings. In deeply red states, it is likely to be inconsequential to the election outcome.

Based on these fundamentals, five of six House seats in Kentucky will also stay with the Republican Party. Incumbents James Comer, Brett Guthrie, Thomas Massie, Hal Rogers, and Andy Barr are all on track to be easily re-elected to their seats. In the last midterm elections in 2018, every Kentucky US House incumbent was re-elected with at least 62 percent of the vote or more except one. There are no reasons to expect this trend will change.

The only district that was competitive in the last midterm electionsthe 6th district with incumbent Andy Barrhas a Democratic candidate on the ballot this time that is not supported by the Kentucky Democratic Party due to his past history of lawsuits and his policy stances. This means Barr should easily win re-election this time.

Yarmuth, the lone Democrat in Kentuckys congressional delegation, is not seeking re-election to the 3rd district. Democrats are favored to win this open seat race based on the partisan leanings of the district.

Democrats face an uphill battle in the 2022 midterm elections, particularly in the commonwealth of Kentucky. Still, Booker is a formidable and strong challenger in the states US Senate election and is already making headlines. This will be a race to watch in November for clues to how both parties are evolving to political changes from Trump and COVID-19.

Please read our comments policy before commenting.

Note: This article gives the views of the author, and not the position of USAPP American Politics and Policy, nor the London School of Economics.

Shortened URL for this post:https://bit.ly/3xvT0SE

Anne Cizmar Eastern Kentucky UniversityAnne Cizmar is an Associate Professor in the Department of Government at Eastern Kentucky University. Her teaching and research interests include the presidency, American political behavior, and campaigns and elections. Her work appears in Political Research Quarterly and Public Administration Quarterly, among other outlets.

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The 2022 Midterms: Kentucky is shaping up to be one of the Democrats' most uphill electoral battles this November - London School of Economics

The Senate bill passed on Tuesday would expand health care coverage for more than 3.5 million veterans.

The Democratic-controlled Senate on Tuesday advanced a bill aimed at providing adequate medical care for veterans exposed to toxic chemicals during their service. But 12 Senate Republicans voted against even considering this bipartisan proposal.

By an 86-12 margin, the Senate voted for cloture on a motion to begin consideration of the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022 well more than the required 60-vote supermajority.

According to Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chair Jon Tester and Ranking Member Jerry Moran, the bill will expand the Department of Veterans Affairs health care eligibility to combat veterans who served after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, including more than 3.5 million veterans who were exposed to toxic chemicals during their service. The bill will also expand research on toxic exposure and expand coverage for those exposed to Agent Orange and burn pits.

"In addition to providing historic relief to all generations of toxic-exposed veterans, this legislation will improve claims processing to meet the immediate and future needs of every veteran it serves," wrote Tester (D-MT) and Moran (R-KS) after they reached an agreement on a Senate version of the bill on May 18. "Together, we will continue working until Congress delivers on its commitment to passing long-lasting solutions and comprehensive reforms for those who served our country."

Despite the Senate's broad bipartisan support for the bill, 12 Republicans voted against advancing it: Sens. Richard Burr (NC), Bill Cassidy (LA), John Kennedy (LA), James Lankford (OK), Mike Lee (UT), Cynthia Lummis (WY), Rand Paul (KY), Mitt Romney (UT), Dan Sullivan (AK), Thom Tillis (NC), Pat Toomey (PA), and Todd Young (IN).

None of the 12 senators immediately gave a reason for why they voted against the bill either on the Senate floor or on Twitter.

The issue has been a top priority for President Joe Biden and his administration.

In his March State of the Union address, Biden noted that his own son's fatal cancer might have been caused by toxic exposure during his service in Iraq.

"When they came home, many of the world's fittest and best-trained warriors were never the same. Headaches. Numbness. Dizziness. A cancer that would put them in a flag-draped coffin," he said of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. "I know. One of those soldiers was my son, Major Beau Biden. We don't know for sure if a burn pit was the cause of his brain cancer or the diseases of so many of our troops. But Im committed to finding out everything we can."

In April, the Biden administration announced administrative steps to allow those exposed to burn pit chemicals during their military service to get disability benefits if they contracted respiratory cancers.

The White House has also pushed Congress to enact broader legislation. In May, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Senate bill "will not only help deliver more timely access to benefits and services for veterans and their survivors, it will also ensure that the Department of Veterans Affairs can act more nimbly to add future presumptive conditions when the evidence warrants."

A similar bill passed the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives in March, 256-174. Though 34 Republicans backed that bill along with every single Democratic representative the vast majority of the GOP caucus voted no and argued that that $281.5 billion package was too expensive.

The Senate is now likely to approve its version of the bill and send it back to the House.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has already endorsed the Senate package as "an important victory for Americas veterans, their families and caregivers, and indeed for all of America," and promised to immediately move it through the House and to Biden's desk.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.

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12 GOP senators oppose bill to expand health care to veterans exposed to toxic burn pits - The American Independent