During the holiday season while taxpayers are busy with their families and holiday vacations, many people miss one of the best reports of all and that is Senator Rand Paul’s, (Republican from Kentucky) report on government waste. This is Senator Paul ninth year announcing government waste.  He calls this “Festivus Report” which spotlights $900 Billion dollars of waste of taxpayer money. Last years’ 2022 report, Senator Paul brought to our attention the national debt was  $30 TRILLION. He tells us both parties of Congress managed to approach 34 TRILLION in debt in just one year later. Remember BOTH parties VOTED to raise the debt limit to borrow even more in 2024. I think the media barely mentioned it on national tv.  What does that mean for us? Higher taxes… for certain!

“As our Congressional Representatives spend more to reward their favorite projects, American taxpayers pay more for everything.” Senator Rand Paul also states, “The same big spenders teamed up again to continue sending Americans hard earned money to foreign countries and funding endless wars, all while ignoring our southern border.”

LEARN how your taxpayer money is being wasted:

1. What was supposed to be an A.I. System to verify proof of identity quickly exposed the stupidity of the 800 BILLION government Covid Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Some applications used Barbie Doll faces as proof of identity. The Small Business Administration approved the applicants, did not catch on barbie head shots in time and sent out improper Covid -19 PPP payments.
2. $659 Billion for Interest on our National Debt: Borrowing to spend money we do not have is expensive! In Fiscal Year 2023, the US Department of Treasury spent $659 Billion just to pay interest on our National Debt.
3. Dr Fauci’s Monkey Business: $33.2M to run South Carolinas 3,000 Monkey Colony. The NIH  (National Institute of Health) signed a $33.2Million contract with a business to house, feed, and care for these 3,000 monkeys before the monkeys are sent to research labs around the country. Senator Rand states “Apparently monkey business is BIG Business.”
4. $6 Billion to boost Egyptian Tourism. The United States Agency For International Development(USAID) approved spending $6 Million to boost tourism in Egypt. The U.S. government has spent over $100 Million on Egyptian Tourism so far.
5. Walking hot dogs and checking their rectal temperatures. The Agricultural Research Service at the USDA funded the study at Southern Illinois University and gets $1.7 BILLION a year from Congress allocated to “cutting edge” research funding to support a summer study that walked 16 dogs of two different colors – and measured their rectal temperatures.
   
6. Department of Homeland Security: Training Employees To Be Their Best Selves”. As part of a 5 year “diversity equity, inclusion, and accessibility(DEIA) strategic study, CISA Employees gathered for a Federally funded workshop, where attendees focused on ”effective strategies to build and sustain psychological safety that allows individuals to show up to work as their authentic and best selves.
7. Russian Cats On A Treadmill Study: An NIH National Institute of Heath Study funded by a $2.7 Million Grant. Russian Scientists funded by U.S. taxpayer money had cats brain stems snipped and were then forced to walk on a treadmill. These catwalks were part of the $2.7Million grant given to a researcher at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The Institute then sub granted the funds to researchers in St. Petersburg , Russia.
8. U.S. Government Paid $38 MILLION to people who were dead, Senator Paul’s report states “ U.S. Officials testified that 38 MILLION in Covid payments – a average of $83,000 – went to people Uncle Sam KNEW were dead. Specifically, $10 Million was paid to individuals who were already dead on the date someone sent the application. In fact , the U.S. government paid out $1.3 Million to individuals who were dead for at least a year when the payment was made. He states that not all funds were recovered because dead people are notoriously bad about paying up.
9. Department of Defense purchased an $8395 dollar lobster tank from a restaurant company y in Springfield, Virginia. These are not the tanks the taxpayers expect the DOD to buy.
10. Military Equipment: $89 Million worth of engines! U.S. Army Officials “improperly stored 80 gas turbine engines” valued at $89.16 Million. Instead of properly storing the engines inside a covered shed according to code, they left all the engines outside. The code to properly store the engines in the shed was missing; however, no one called and asked for the code so the turbine engines sat outside for three years!
11. Military Equipment: $12.6 Million of transmissions, the Department of Defense Inspector General found the U.S. Army improperly stored 135 hydraulic transmissions valued at $12.6 Million outside.
12. Military Equipment”: $68 Million worth of Military Tanks and Vehicle treads. The Department of Defense Inspector General catalogued 117,534 vehicular track shoes valued at $68.29 Million which were left outside, not properly covered, or stored.
13. The Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency( CISA), the Department of Homeland Security(DHS) Agency that made itself the arbiter of “misinformation” during the Covid pandemic, created a series of graphic novels, called the “Resilience Series” to help educate the public about misinformation. There is nothing comical about wasting taxpayer money to justify censorship of constitutionally protected speech. The first in the series was called “Real Fake” and featured foreign operation created to spread misinformation about a U.S. Senator and impact the U.S. elections. Senator Rand further states “ Misinformation is not a joke, but it is especially not funny when bureaucrats in the Federal government are determining what is and what isn’t considered misinformation, all under the guise of protecting Americans.
14. National Institute of Health: Funded Researchers at the University of Mississippi Medical Center to give lab monkeys meth in the morning. These Researchers tracked the monkeys sleep habits through implanted wire leads running “ subcutaneously from the head incision to the eye orbit, exiting the eye orbit from underneath the upper eyelid. (Meth-Head Monkeys). More than 100,000 Americans die of meth overdoses each year, yet the NIH approved  $12 Million in grants to test the sleep of monkeys. This is cruel to taxpayers and to the monkeys.
15. $400 Million Pot Of Cash For Political Campaigns: According to Senator Rand Paul…Every year, the IRS reroutes incoming tax payments to a fund to set aside for U.S. Presidential campaigns. The account is funded by a $3.00 IRS tax return check box. Since 2008, no major political party candidate for President has accepted the funds. As of November 1, 2023, $400.6 Million is set aside unused in the Presidential Election Campaign Fund Account. Why do we even provide welfare for politicians? It is time to scrap the wasteful Presidential Election Campaign  check off program on your IRS tax form.

16. $200 Million Paid to Famous Music Artists During Covid Pandemic: When concert venues and family- owned theatres were forced to shut down during the pandemic financial relief, famous artists and their touring companies received over $200 Million through the program. Multi-millionaire musicians were cashing checks instead of the intended recipients… small business owners.
17. Studying Covid-19 Misinformation On Social Media; $3.8 Million In NIH Funds; Targeted Black And Rural Communities. Throughout the pandemic, The National Institute of Health – an agency that suppressed its own involvement in funding dangerous coronavirus research – labeled Covid dissent as misinformation. A $3.8 Million grant to the University of Pennsylvania study is studying to help identify and combat misinformation. In this study, Researchers examine social media posts and combat misinformation. In this study the Researchers place a specific lens on race and location.
18. Dr Fauci’s $477,121 Transgender Monkey Study Grant: Under Fauci, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NAIID) was back in business torturing monkeys and wasting taxpayer money. This time, instead of torturing puppies with ravenous sandflies, a Florida lab is trying to feminize male monkeys. Yes! That is right, Dr Fauci approved a NIAID grant to fund forced feminization of male monkeys to see what would happen. The lab is working to make male monkeys “ transgender” to address “social injustices” suffered by transgendered persons. They also are testing the monkeys to determine if they are more susceptible to HIV. Critics note that monkeys themselves are not susceptible to HIV and argue injecting male monkeys with female hormones is unlikely to yield relevant information to help humans.
19.  $236 Billion In Improper Federal Payments: can you imagine a Line Item in your personal checkbook that says “ improper payments? In 2023, the Biden Administration sent out a whopping $236 Billion in inaccurate checks, otherwise known as “improper payments”. Federal law defines the term as payments made by the government to the wrong person, in the wrong amounts. Some of the most alarming improper payments include: Medicaid($50.332 Billion); Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance ($43.551); Earned Income Tax Credits($21.881); Paycheck Protection Program ($4.066); American Opportunity Credits($1.651 Billion) and VA Purchasing Long Term Services And Supports ( $1.418 Billion).
20. The Government Likes Its Gambling Monkeys! In 2014, Senator Tom Coburn ( R- OK) published his annual WasteBook, exposing a $171,000 National Science Foundation study making monkeys gamble. Nine years later, the NIH( National Institute of Health) is still actively studying the gambling choices of monkeys.  (See page 24 of Senator Rand Paul’s research report below for more information on this government waste.)

All of this information is attributed to Honorable Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky The Festivus Report”

Thank you… Senator Paul and your research team for finding wasteful taxpayer funded projects.

Yes, they are wasteful. What Congressional Members supported these projects to begin with?

Start Here To Find Your Congressional Representatives: https://www.house.gov/representatives

TaxConnections would like to hear of any other wasteful taxpayer money you are aware of. Your commentary is welcome.