Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), U.S. Representatives Walter Jones (R-NC), Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA), and Thomas Massie (R-KY) and former U.S. Senator Bob Graham (D-FL) stood today with family members of victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to announce new bipartisan legislation, S.1471, known as the Transparency for the Families of 9/11 Victims and Survivors Act of 2015. The legislation, co-sponsored by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), would require President Obama to declassify and make available to the public the redacted 28 pages...Read more

Washington, D.C. – Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., announced nine amendments to reform U.S. surveillance programs, enhance protections for American’s personal information and improve transparency regarding intelligence activities. Wyden and Paul called on Republican leaders to allow votes on amendments to strengthen privacy protections, rather than forcing votes on amendments that would water down the USA Freedom Act. The joint amendments would: · Amendment 1446: Require the government to get a warrant before collecting personal information from third parties · Amendment...Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released the fourth edition to ‘The Waste Report,’ which is an ongoing project highlighting egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government. In this latest edition, ‘The Waste Report’ exposes $8 million of waste spent by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on 7000 defective solar panels for a VA Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas, that were never able to be turned on. ‘The Waste Report’ can be found HERE or below. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs – $8 Million Defective Solar Panels In the latest example of a federal solar...Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul made the following remarks on the U.S. Senate floor tonight regarding the expiration of the PATRIOT Act. Below is the video and transcript of Sen. Paul's floor speech. CLICK HERE TO WATCH SEN. PAUL’S REMARKS ON THE EXPIRATION OF PATRIOT AC TRANSCRIPT Sen. Rand Paul : Tonight begins the process of ending bulk collection. The bill will ultimately pass but we always look for silver linings. I think the bill may be replacing one form of bulk collection with another, but the government after this bill passes will no longer collect your phone records. My...Read more

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