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Tony Fauci is back in the news. One thing few people know about Fauci, when he says he knows medicine, he's definitely right. He's been around for a long time. Tony Fauci graduated from medical school almost six years ago. He's 81. That means he's three years older than the average life expectancy of an American man. It means he's 16 years past the age at which the average physician in this country retires.

We're not calling Tony Fauci old, but at this point, he's probably not buying any long-term municipal bonds. If you were his investment adviser, you'd tell him to day trade. Yet, Tony Fauci is still working. In fact, he's one of the longest-serving employees in the entire federal government. He's almost certainly the highest-paid. Why is that? Because Tony Fauci is that good. The term "national treasure" comes to mind.

Decent people understand that. Drive through any neighborhood with high concentrations of college-educated professionals with desperately unhappy personal lives and you will see the yard signs shrines erected in Fauci's honor. "Thank you, Dr. Fauci!" they read, capped with a perky little exclamation point with a heart at the bottom, "Thank you for being you."

And you can actually understand their gratitude. Fauci is the man who got us through the pandemic as the coronavirus wafted from a Chinese military biolab in Wuhan and settled over the United States. Tony Fauci was the man Americans look to for guidance. He was our Sherpa, our diminutive spirit guide. "Do these masks actually work?" we wondered. "No, they don't," Dr. Fauci replied firmly.

CDC RAISES MONKEYPOX ALERT TO LEVEL 2, RECOMMENDS MASKS DURING TRAVEL

Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House Chief Medical Advisor and Director of the NIAID, participates in the White House COVID-19 Response Team's regular call with the National Governors Association in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House Campus, Monday, Dec. 27, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

"There's no reason to be walking around with a mask," he told "60 Minutes" in March of 2020, but that turned out to be not quite accurate. In fact, there was a reason to walk around in a mask, but it had nothing to do with public health. The experience of being forcibly masked was so unpleasant and so humiliating it distracted you from other questions, such as "Where did this virus come from anyway?"

As someone who had helped fund the development of COVID with your tax dollars, Fauci was strongly in favor of you being distracted, so he soon changed the guidance. He upped it soon. Soon Fauci was demanding that we mask up, including outdoors and exercising, even alone in your car, and so we did.

By January of 2021, even that guidance had proved to be inadequate because people are still persistently asking, "Where the hell this virus come from?" So, Fauci had go further. He declared that Americans must wear two masks, one on top of the other, with no air holes to breathe. This, he said, was "common sense," so a lot of people did it. But Fauci didn't rest there. By December of 2020, he had checked with science and concluded that actually one of the main risk factors for COVID-19 was your family's ancient religious observances. Those are the real problem, so Tony Fauci went on NBC News to cancel Christmas.

FLORIDA SURGEON GENERAL AT ODDS WITH FDA PANEL DECISION ON COVID-19 VACCINE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 5

VOICEOVER: A warning and a plea from Dr. Anthony Fauci.

ANDREA MITCHELL, MSNBC: Should people now cancel their Travel plans for Christmas?

FAUCI: To the extent possible, don't travel, don't congregate together.

That was a tough one for a lot of people, even the double-masked ones. Americans love Christmas. They love their families. Many of them still love God, but Fauci had spoken. Science had spoken. No more Christmas. So, countless Americans spent Christmas morning alone. But still, it wasn't enough. In the end. Dr. Fauci looked around this country and saw people making human connections, experiencing warmth and intimacy with one another in the middle of a global pandemic. Talk about reckless.

So, Fauci stamped it out. "Going forward," he told us, "You must never shake hands with another human being. That is, if you don't want to die drowning in your own fluids in a COVID ward."

QUESTION: Would you agree that drug and alcohol use increased during these lockdowns?

FAUCI: Well, I'm not sure the lockdowns itself did it, and I'm wondering why you're asking me about lockdowns, because there were not complete lockdowns in this country.

CATHOLIC BISHOPS URGE POLITICIANS TO ADDRESS 'ALARMING RATE' OF VANDALISM AGAINST CHURCHES, PREGNANCY CENTERS

Oh, there weren't complete lockdowns in this country. But in fact, there were. Most people obeyed, but not everyone. Some people persisted in shaking hands with one another or even celebrating Christmas. Others wore only a single mask and those people, we can report with mixed feelings, died, and they died alone because due to science, Tony Fauci prevented their loved ones from seeing them, from holding their hands in their final moments on Earth. But it was all necessary because there was a global pandemic.

In the end, you will recall that Tony Fauci realized, as a scientist does sometimes, based on research, that only Big Pharma could save us. We couldn't do it ourselves. We are too weak and selfish. We needed Pfizer. The entire country was going to have to get the COVID shot, every one of us and anyone who refused would be crushed, yelled at, ostracized, fired.

In the affluent neighborhoods, the place where people believe in science ("In this house, they believe in science) places like Bethesda, Brooklyn and Aspen, the population gratefully complied, but in the rest of the country, there remained cells of ignorance and superstition where people resisted the vaccine.

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Strangely, at the same time, many of these primitive people also had, somehow, high skilled, highly essential jobs, including in health care. They were nurses, they were EMTs, they were airline pilots and cops and Navy SEALs, but they were all summarily fired. Their careers and lives destroyed. But it wasn't sad. It was necessary because they were killing the rest of us. As Dr. Fauci told us, there were two things we needed to know about this pandemic of the unvaccinated and the COVID shot that could fix it. First was the vaccine absolutely prevents COVID infection. Watch.

FAUCI: When people are vaccinated, they can feel safe that they are not going to get infected.

"When people are vaccinated, they can feel safe, that they are not going to get infected."Simple, so take the shot and you're never getting COVID. Done. We'll get it. The second thing that Dr. Fauci told us was that Pfizer had made something far more impressive than your own body. Pfizer was smarter than nature. Natural immunity was a joke compared to the COVID vaccine.

FAUCI: Theremay be the need for yet again another boost in this case, a fourth dose boost for an individual receiving the mRNA and then the issue of vaccines, actually, at least with regard to SARS-CoV-2, can do better than nature. You want to make sure people keep their masks on. I think the idea of taking masks off in my mind is really not something we should even be considering. It is, as we've said, a pandemic and an outbreak of the unvaccinated.

"Vaccines can do better than nature. That's why this is a pandemic of the unvaccinated." That was Dr. Fauci's message and still his message, despite the fact that yesterday and here's the news in the story Dr. Fauci announced that he himself has been infected with the coronavirus. That's right.

CALIFORNIA LAWMAKERS AMEND BILL THAT WOULD HAVE ALLOWED PRETEENS BE VACCINATED WITHOUT PARENTAL CONSENT

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Dr. Fauci is COVID positive, despite double masking outside, despite skipping Christmas, despite his strict regimen of celibacy and no handshaking, despite four separate COVID vaccine shots. Dr. Fauci got sick anyway. Now, this seems like an important moment. What does it mean? Well, if you live in Bethesda and have a Fauci sign in your yard, you know exactly what it means. It means we need more vaccines. Pfizer is still the answer because Pfizer is always the answer.

Fauci delivered that message today without flinching.

FAUCI: This virus is changing and we need to keep up with it. In order to do that, we've got to do better with new vaccine platforms such as nanoparticle vaccines. We cannot proceed with that unless we get additional funding. Importantly, we need to both prevent infection and transmission. We know that we cannot do that unless we get a highly effective, mucosal or intranasal vaccine.

Okay, so testifying on the need for vaccines from isolation, having been infected after getting four of them. "We need to both prevent infection and transmission."

JESSE WATTERS TO FAUCI: CORONAVIRUS ESCAPED FROM A LAB FUNDED BY YOU

"But wait a second," said skeptics who don't live in Bethesda with Fauci yard signs, "Weren't the first four vaccine shots supposed to prevent infection transmission? Isn't that why you fired all those nurses and pilots and Navy SEALs? Shouldn't you acknowledge the lie you told for years and apologize to them, give them back their jobs with damages and grovel before them begging for forgiveness before you move on to yet another mandatory vaccine?"

"And while we're at it," the skeptics pointed out, "Can you tell us, Dr. Fauci, how many Americans have been killed or seriously injured by the first shots that you mandated? Well, many thousands, we know that, but how many exactly? Is anyone even keeping track?"

Researchers at the CDC, along with scientists at Emory, Vanderbilt and Duke, recently concluded the mRNA vaccine significantly increased the risk of potentially fatal heart damage in young men. So, Dr. Fauci, what exactly is the cost benefit analysis here on giving that vaccine to young men? Be specific.

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Now, a normal bureaucrat would have withered under questions like that, but not Fauci. Fauci is a man of science. In fact, he is science, as he once explained. Science and Fauci are identical. You'll never see them together in the same room. There's a reason for that. So, Fauci didn't bend. He doubled down, pressing for the mass vaccination of all American children over five.

Watch here his bravery in the face of harassment from Rand Paul, who is also technically a doctor, but a skeptical one and therefore anti-science.

SEN. RAND PAUL:The government recommends everybody take a booster over age five. Are you aware of any studies that show a reduction in hospitalization or death for children who take a booster?

FAUCI: Right now, there's not enough data that has been accumulated, Senator Paul, to indicate that that's the case.

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RAND PAUL:There are no studies, and Americans should all know this, there are no studies on children showing a reduction in hospitalization or death with taking a booster. The only studies that were permitted, the only studies that were presented were antibody studies. So, they say, "If we give you a booster, you make antibodies." Now, a lot of scientists would question whether or not that's proof of efficacy of a vaccine. If I give you ten or if I give a patient 10 mRNA vaccines and they make protein each time or they make antibody each time, is that proof that we should give ten boosters, Dr. Fauci?

FAUCI:No, I think that is somewhat of an absurd exaggeration.

Notice the brilliant facility with language here. Dr. Fauci doesn't actually answer the question. Instead, he dismisses it out of hand in a very scientific way as "absurd." That's how a scientist talks. Questions about efficacy, whether the drugs you prescribe actually work, mean nothing compared to questions about federal funding. Federal funding is what matters to a scientist.

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In fact, federal funding was the whole point of Fauci's testimony today. He was there to let Congress know that as a man who's been vaccinated four times and still got COVID, he can tell you firsthand, we're never going to beat COVID without more vaccines and to get that vaccine, we're going to send billions more tax dollars to Tony Fauci. There's no way around it. It's science.

But still, Rand Paul clearly more a witch doctor than a physician, wasn't fully convinced. "Where's all this money going?" Rand Paul asked, "Are you getting any of it?" Watch Dr. Fauci's brilliance on display as he answers that question.

RAND PAUL: Over the period of time from 2010 to 2016, 27,000 royalty payments were paid to 1,800 NIH employees. We know that not because you told us, but because we forced you to tell us through the Freedom of Information Act. Over $193 million was given to these...1,800 employees. Can you tell me that you have not received a royalty from any entity that you ever oversaw the distribution of money in research grants?

FAUCI: Well, first of all, let's talk about royalty.

RAND PAUL: No, that's the question. Have you ever overseen, Have you ever received a royalty payment from a company that you later oversaw money going to that company?

COVID SHOTS FOR CHILDREN: MILLIONS ORDERED, OFFICIALS SAY

FAUCI: You know, I don't know as afact.

"Are you getting rich from these vaccines?" Rand Paul asked. Fauci's reply: "You know, I don't know as a fact."

"You know. I don't know is a fact." Now, what does that mean? "You know, I don't know as a fact." Well, honestly, we don't know what that means. No one knows what that means. It is impenetrable, like a Zen cone. It's the sound of one hand clapping and that's why it's brilliant. In any case, we are getting new vaccines, of course, we are, whether Tony Fauci is profiting personally from them or no.

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It really doesn't matter, though, as his fans, we hope he is, and of course, the vaccine makers will need another dose of legal immunity in the extremely unlikely event their experimental drugs were to kill thousands more Americans whose deaths are then covered up and forgotten. That's just common sense, as Dr. Fauci would say. Another round of shots for everyone. We've got to beat this pandemic.

Now, we haven't seen polls on it yet, but there's no question Americans are going to be thrilled by this news when they hear it. We reached out to Justin Bieber tonight for comment, but unfortunately, his face is paralyzed, so he couldn't respond. We'll tell you when he gets back to us.

Tucker Carlson currently serves as the host of FOX News Channels (FNC) Tucker Carlson Tonight (weekdays 8PM/ET). He joined the network in 2009 as a contributor.

Go here to read the rest:
Tucker Carlson: What Fauci's COVID infection means - Fox News

The war in Ukraine is now more than 100 days old, displacing an estimated 13 million Ukrainians with no end in sight.

But the Ukrainians have so far held onto large parts of the country, largely because of weapons sent from the West that have bolstered the military to give it a fighting chance against the Russians.

While Australia has sent $200 million in weapons and Bushmaster vehicles, it is just a fraction of the amount of military aid committed by the US.

According to the Center for International Policy (CIP) a US-based group monitoring US military spending and weapons Congress has approved $US54 billion ($70 billion)in aid to Ukraine since the invasion onFebruary 24.

The billions of dollars' worth of foreign weapons sent to Ukraine has given them a fighting chance against Russia,but could they fall into the wrong hands?

"If you look at the scale and magnitude and speed, it's really staggering," Hanna Homestead, an associate from CIP, told ABC News Daily.

"When you think about comparing that to some other things in the US budget, our space agency NASA's budget is only $US24 billion ($35 billion)."

"We only allocated $US1 billion ($1.44 billion) to climate finance, which has really important effects in countries all over the world."

Last week, the US pledged another $US1 billion ($1.44 billion)in weapons and aid for Ukraine, amid an urgent call from Kyiv for more advanced arms.

The new package was announced after a meeting with allies at NATO headquarters in Brussels and includes a commitment of more long-range artillery and for the first time anti-ship missile launchers.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the commitment, saying it further strengthened the nation's defence.

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"I am grateful for this support. Itis especially important for our defence in Donbas," he said after the announcement.

According to CIP, $US26 billion ($37 billion) of the total funding has been spent on military aid alone. This includes an increase in lethal aid, which translates to helicopters, drones, high-mobility artillery rocket systems, howitzers, javelins, rifles and ammunition.

"This has certainly been the most amount of aid that the US has provided any country, and certainly even more than the aid that we sent to Afghanistan during the height of reconstruction," Ms Homestead said.

She noted a turning point in April when the United Statesstarted to transfer weapons that required training by American soldiers.

"And so that kind of commitment to sending that equipment and sending that training showed an escalation in how the United States is thinking about the kind of support that it was going to provide to Ukraine," she said.

The US Congress has passed two bills allowing President Joe Biden to quickly supply and loan weapons to Ukraine.

Congress approved a bill for emergency funding for Ukraine in March that included traditional foreign and military aid, while a second bill for $40 billion ($58billion) was passed in May.

Hannah Homestead said that included $US19 billion ($27 billion) for immediate military support, while $US9 billion ($13 billion)was committed to replenishing US weapons stocks.

Senator Rand Paul, of Kentucky, attempted to alter the second bill, requiring an inspector-general to monitor the spending and weapons deployment. He failed, with congress approving the bill without it.

"The oversight is very tricky," Ms Homestead said.

"There are a lot of risks and implications when sending weapons into a war zone, especially this huge quantity in an emergency situation.

"There are a lot of concerns around tracking and making sure these weapons end up where they're supposed to belong and don't fall into the wrong hands."

CIP is also concerned about the possibility of weapons trafficking.

"Ukraine in particular has a history of an illicit arms trade that really took off actually in the 1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union. And these arms were in Ukraine and have actually ended up in places all over the world," Ms Homestead said.

So far the US congress has approved funding until September.

"I do certainly know the amount of weapons and also the amount of humanitarian support, refugee support we've provided Ukraine thus far has certainly made a huge difference," Ms Homestead said.

"I'm actually not quite sure what the prospects are in terms of the longevity [of the war]if we were to cut off aid."

The UK, Germany, Canada, Belgium and France are also among the nations that have supplied Ukraine with weapons and military equipment.

Posted7h ago7 hours agoSun 19 Jun 2022 at 7:42pm, updated2h ago2 hours agoMon 20 Jun 2022 at 12:27am

Original post:
Is excessive funding from the US escalating the conflict with Russia in Ukraine? - ABC News

You can tell how obnoxious this is from the fact that Mitch McConnell felt obliged to side with Chuck Schumer against Paul in the dispute.

Time is obviously of the essence in Ukraines war. If you want to maximize their chances of winning, you want to get this aid package on the books as soon as possible. Equally obvious is the fact that the bill will pass the Senate easily. It passed overwhelmingly in the House a few days ago and will likely draw 80+ votes in the upper chamber, Id guess. Thats the key fact here. Paul cant stop this bill.

But he can slow it down a little and hurt the Ukrainian effort by doing so.

Schumer asked for unanimous consent to advance the bill this afternoon, which would have allowed the Senate to skip a bunch of procedural argle-bargle and move to a vote quickly. Unusually, McConnell joined Schumers request, a sign that he knew trouble was brewing on his side of the aisle and wanted to signal his opposition to it. No one objected except Paul.

Paul wanted the $40 billion aid bill rewritten to include a requirement that a U.S. inspector general supervise disbursement of the aid to Ukraine. Schumer said no but tried to compromise by offering to hold a vote on an amendment to that effect submitted by Paul. He could get his IG demand attached if he could persuade a majority of the Senate to adopt it. Fair enough?

No, said Paul. The request for unanimous consent failed.

Rarely is Chuck Schumer right about anything but hes right here:

Ukraine is not asking us to fight this war. Theyre only asking for the resources they need to defend themselves against this deranged invasion. And they need this help right now, McConnell said in his own remarks. Again, theres no question that the bill will pass and the money will be spent. The question for Paul was simply whether he wanted to spite Ukraines supporters by doing what he could to hobble the Ukrainian effort with unnecessary delay.

Itll now take upwards of a week for the Senate to jump through its procedural hoops and pass the bill under regular order.

Im showing my cards here: I dont believe that much of the MAGA or MAGA-adjacent caterwauling about the cost of the Ukraine aid bill is on the level. Nationalists have never been sticklers about federal spending, after all. I posted these Mark Levin tweets earlier but let me post them again here.

The ulterior motives are more complicated than wanting to kiss Putins ass but Levins right to discern that there are ulterior motives. I wrote about that the last time Paul happened to stumble across a Kremlin-friendly talking point in public. The populist right and left resent that Ukraine is demonstrating the strength of the prevailing western liberal order on the battlefield at the expense of one of the great enemies of that order. After all, the more effective the American establishment and the EU look in backing the Ukrainians, the less interest American and European voters will have in replacing either with populist regimes of the right or left.

The aid bill has become a cause for populist grumbling because it channels that dubious ambivalence or even hostility towards a Ukrainian victory into a more politically congenial grievance, exorbitant federal spending and the governments misplaced priorities:

I want Russian illiberalism to prevail in Ukraine because itll help mainstream authoritarianism in the U.S. is a hard sell. Why arent we building more baby-formula factories? is an easier one. Levin knows the game being played, though.

Paul is a little different from the nationalists since hes a libertarian and comes by his worries about the deficit more honestly. But hes also a guy who voted for Trumps tax cuts in 2017 without any guarantee of spending cuts to offset the loss in revenue. And as youre about to see, he cant resist lapsing into libertarian boilerplate about America not being the worlds policeman even though no American police are in the field in Ukraine. The Ukrainians are policing their own territory. All were doing is helping them defend themselves, a concept that libertarians normally support ardently in the context of the Second Amendment and gun rights.

Once more for emphasis: This bill will pass. And because it will, Paul knows that holding it up wont achieve any of his stated goals but might hurt the Ukrainians at the margins. The fact that he chose to hold it up anyway speaks volumes about his intentions. I hope McConnell exacts some revenge the next time Paul needs something from him.

See the rest here:
Rand Paul forces delay in Ukraine aid bill even though final passage is ...

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