Rand Paul unveils ‘Festivus’ list of $900B in wasteful government spending

WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., has released a list of what he asserts to be wasteful government projects and line items highlighting $900 billion in what he deems as government spending waste in his “Festivus” report amid massive government spending and escalating deficits.

The annual report starts with images of Barbie dolls submitted by scammers attempting to obtain COVID-19 relief funds from the Paycheck Protection Program.

Other expenses highlighted were $659 billion for national debt interest, $6 million for boosting Egyptian tourism, the National Institutes of Health spending a portion of a $2.7 million grant to study Russian cats walking on a treadmill, and $33 million for the operation of Dr. Anthony Fauci‘s state-owned research island of 3,000 monkeys.

“Festivus” is a nod to the popular Seinfeld episode centered around airing grievances and Paul adopted a similar approach.

The report notes the Small Business Administration granted $200 million to “struggling” musicians such as Post Malone, Chris Brown and Lil Wayne. Additionally, an unknown sum was allocated for the USDA’s dog-walking research during the summer.

“Researchers found the Labradors’ fur color did not affect their body temperatures after a hot summer’s walk. That’s it. That’s the taxpayer funded, cutting-edge study,” Paul wrote in the report. “The Agricultural Research Service at the USDA, which funded the study at Southern Illinois University, gets $1.7 billion a year from Congress, but it’s unknown how much the hot dog study cost the taxpayer.”

Paul’s report further notes that government debt has surged to $34 trillion this year — up from $30 trillion the previous year. The Congressional Budget Office predicts an additional $2 trillion in debt annually for the next decade.

The report blames members of both parties in Congress who voted to raise the debt ceiling. Paul asserts that Americans bear the consequences through inflation costs and interest rates.

“As Congress spends to reward its favored industries and pet projects, the American taxpayers are forced to pay the price through record–high inflation and crippling interest rates,” Paul wrote.

Paul’s 2022 report broke down $482 billion in wasteful spending, from the billions spent giving COVID relief funds to ineligible people to a $118,000 study on whether Marvel movie villain Thanos would be able to snap his fingers while wearing the Infinity Gauntlet.