Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) released his annual “Festivus” report on Tuesday, marking the 11th installment of his spending transparency.
This year’s report estimated $1,639,135,969,608 in government waste, which includes interest payments on the national debt. “For the first time in 50 years, President Trump deployed a pocket rescission, cancelling $5 billion in foreign aid and international organization funding. While it’s a good start, it’s just a drop in the bucket,” the report says. “The Congressional Budget Office predicts we will add an average of $23.9 trillion in debt annually for the next decade. The U.S. government will add over $6.53 billion of debt every single day for the next ten years. We borrow over $272 million every hour, we borrow $4.54 million every minute, and we borrow over $75,000 every second.”
The report detailed expenditures from overseas cartoon series, TikTok campaigns to reduce drug usage, developing a “resilient and equitable” food network, saliva sample collection for New York City-based research, experiments involving dogs and cocaine, and video game challenges.
Paul’s report also highlighted “doomscrolling studies,” which sought to “investigate a mystery that has baffled absolutely no one: whether toddlers spending all day on iPads might affect their development.”
Nearly $500,000 was spend by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop a “Video Game Challenge,” a contest “asking kids to design video games about the future.”
“No matter how much taxpayer money Washington burns through, politicians can’t help but demand more. Fiscal responsibility may not be the most crowded road, but it’s one I’ve walked year after year — and this holiday season will be no different. So, before we get to the Feats of Strength, it’s time for my Airing of (Spending) Grievances,” Paul said in a statement.
Last year, Paul’s report detailed $1,008,313,329,626.12 in government waste.
