Press Releases

TREAT Act would increase access to evidence-based medication-assisted treatment WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and a bipartisan group of their colleagues introduced new legislation, S.1455, the Recovery Enhancement for Addiction Treatment (TREAT Act) to expand specialized treatment for prescription drug and heroin addiction. The legislation would expand the ability of addiction medical specialists and other trained medical professionals to provide life-saving medication-assisted therapies such as buprenorphine (also called Suboxone) for...Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul blocked attempts to extend the USA PATRIOT Act without amendments or debate on important reforms. Below is a copy of Sen. Paul’s video of his floor speech. CLICK HERE TO WATCH SEN. PAUL’S OPPOSITION TO THE USA PATRIOT ACT TRANSCRIPT Reserving the right to object, we have entered into a momentous debate. This is a debate about whether or not a warrant with a single name of a single company can be used to collect all the records, all of the phone records of all of the people in our country with a single warrant. Our forefathers would be aghast. One of...Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul yesterday successfully filibustered attempts to move to an extension of the USA PATRIOT Act. During the filibuster, Sen. Paul highlighted the need for an open and robust debate and amendment process in order to achieve comprehensive surveillance reform on domestic spying. The amendments, Sen. Paul will offer to the USA PATRIOT Act extension, are outlined below. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON AMENDMENTS TO USA PATRIOT ACT EXTENSION · Replace the PATRIOT Act extension with bipartisan comprehensive surveillance reform o Replaces the extension of expiring FISA...Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Rand Paul (R-KY) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) today introduced the Stop Militarizing Our Law Enforcement Act of 2015. This bipartisan legislation will establish limitations and create greater transparency on the transfer of surplus military-grade equipment to local law enforcement agencies. The bill will prohibit the federal transfer of militarized equipment to state and local law enforcement agencies including, Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, drones and armored vehicles transferred through the U.S. Department of Defense’s 1033, U.S. Department of...Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Rand Paul (R-KY) and Mark Warner (D-VA) today introduced the Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act of 2015. This bipartisan legislation will empower those on the front lines of federal spending to find efficiencies and improve productivity to return value to the taxpayer in the form of deficit reduction and less government borrowing. Building on the current federal law, the Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act would allow a U.S. government agency’s inspector general to pay a bonus of up to $10,000 when a federal employee identifies surplus or unneeded funds. Cosponsors of the...Read more

Uncovers Thousands of Dollars of Waste in the U.S. Department of Education WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released the third edition to ‘The Waste Report,’ which is an ongoing project highlighting egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government. The third edition of the ‘The Waste Report’ exposes thousands of dollars of waste in the U.S. Department of Education. In the coming weeks, the U.S. Department of Education will offer a multi-day writing course designed to teach twenty of their employees how to write an e-mail in the workplace. ‘The Waste Report’ can be found...Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul issued a statement following the passage of S.CON.RES.16, a concurrent resolution calling for the immediate release of four American citizens unjustly imprisoned in Iran. Among the detainees in Iran is Pastor Saeed Abedini, an American pastor that has been indefinitely imprisoned on account of his religious belief. In November 2013, Sen. Paul was an original co-sponsor of a Senate resolution calling for the government of Iran to immediately release Pastor Abedini. Following the resolution’s passage, Sen. Paul issued a letter to President Hassan...Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released the newest edition to ‘The Waste Report.’ ‘The Waste Report’ is an ongoing project to catalog egregious examples of wasteful spending throughout the U.S. government. This week’s report uncovers thousands of taxpayer dollars of potential waste in the National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA). ‘The Waste Report’ can be found HERE or below. Nuclear Waste: Dep. of Energy’s $13K Treadmills The National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA) of the Department of Energy put out a Name-Brand solicitation in February for five Woodway treadmills, with...Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul yesterday unveiled ‘The Waste Report,’ which will identify egregious examples of wasteful spending throughout the U.S. government. Periodically, ‘The Waste Report’ will highlight a new example of government waste. 'The Waste Report' can be found HERE or below. Medical Waste: Coast Guard Medical Vacations In February, the Inspector General (IG) for the Department of Homeland Security issued a report documenting a lack of oversight in the Coast Guard’s Travel to Obtain Health Care Program. At an average annual cost of $1.2 million (not counting lost...Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Joni Ernst (R-IA), and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) introduced bipartisan legislation to provide for a temporary, emergency authorization of defense articles, defense services, and related training directly to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Other cosponsors include Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Ron Johnson (R-WI), and Marco Rubio (R-FL). This legislation would allow the U.S. to provide direct assistance to the KRG, a critical partner in the fight against ISIS. The companion bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives...Read more