Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – By invoking the Arms Export Control Act of 1976, U.S. Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Al Franken (D-MN) forced a vote today on blocking a portion of new weapons sales to Saudi Arabia that would support its military campaign in Yemen. The sale is part of a broader arms agreement that permits the U.S. to make up to $350 billion in defense equipment sales and training commitments to Saudi Arabia over 10 years. Forty-seven senators voted to halt a sale that could deepen the conflict in Yemen, while fifty-three senators voted to provide the arms to Saudi...Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C . – This week, U.S. Senator Rand Paul reintroduced S. 1300, the Sixth Amendment Preservation Act, to reassert the constitutional guarantee of a speedy trial in all prosecutions. Dr. Paul’s legislation would prevent any future authorization of military force from being used to justify indefinitely detaining any person in America without trial. “Giving the accused their day in court isn’t a suggestion,” said Dr. Paul . “It’s enshrined in our Constitution as a cornerstone of our judicial system. My bill reminds our government that the Founders did not put an expiration date on...Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C . – Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul reintroduced the Harbor Equity Act, which modifies the existing criteria used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge smaller harbors. Currently, the Corps prioritizes dredging solely for larger harbors that see 1 million or more tons in traffic per year – often forcing small community harbors to fund their own dredging or be forced to shut down operations. This legislation drops the minimum tonnage requirements to 500,000 tons, prioritizing smaller harbors for dredging. As mentioned by President Trump today in his remarks on the Ohio...Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C . – Last week, U.S. Senators Rand Paul (R-KY) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) reintroduced the Reclassification to Ensure Smarter and Equal Treatment (RESET) Act. This bipartisan legislation would reclassify s pecific low-level, non- violent drug possession felonies as misdemeanors, eliminate the distinction between crack and powder cocaine for sentencing, and ensure that food products containing drugs are weighed fairly. “The RESET Act more closely aligns punishment with the severity of the offense, making it possible for someone to get a second chance after a non-violent, youthful...Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Al Franken (D-MN) introduced a joint resolution of disapproval to force the U.S. Senate to vote on a resolution blocking a portion of new weapons sales to Saudi Arabia in support of their military campaign in Yemen. The senators’ resolution comes after the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee received official notice of pending sales of offensive weapons, including precision-guided munitions, last Friday. The newly noticed sale is part of a broader arms agreement that commits the U.S. to nearly $110 billion...Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul announced he is introducing a Senate resolution calling for America’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, which the Obama Administration formally entered into in September 2016. Experts predict that by the year 2040, the agreement could cost the American economy up to 6.5 million jobs and nearly $3 trillion in Gross Domestic Product,[1] with no guarantee of significantly reducing the global temperature by 2100.[2] “We are being asked to place more regulatory burdens on American businesses and our economy,” said Dr. Paul . “Despite the high...Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) passed U.S. Senator Rand Paul’s S. 21, the “Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny” (REINS) Act, sending the legislation to the Senate floor. “For too long, an ever-growing federal bureaucracy has piled regulations and red tape on the backs of the American people without any approval by Americans’ elected representatives,” said Dr. Paul . “The REINS Act reasserts Congress’ legislative authority and would continue the historic progress we have made this year to curb the damaging...Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) reintroduced the Justice Safety Valve Act, S. 1127, in the U.S. Senate. Representative Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) are reintroducing companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives. Last week, Attorney General Jeff Sessions directed federal prosecutors to pursue the most serious charges and maximum sentences in their cases, returning to stricter enforcement of mandatory minimum sentences. The Justice Safety Valve Act would give federal...Read more

The attorney general on Friday made an unfortunate announcement that will impact the lives of millions of Americans: he issued new instructions for prosecutors to charge suspects with the most serious provable offenses, "those that carry the most substantial guidelines sentence, including mandatory minimum sentences." Mandatory minimum sentences have unfairly and disproportionately incarcerated a generation of minorities. Eric Holder, the attorney general under President Obama, issued guidelines to U.S. Attorneys that they should refrain from seeking long sentences for nonviolent drug...Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul released the following statement in response to reports that Attorney General Jeff Sessions has directed prosecutors nationwide to pursue stricter mandatory minimum sentences. “Mandatory minimum sentences have unfairly and disproportionately incarcerated too many minorities for too long,” said Dr. Paul . “Attorney General Sessions’ new policy will accentuate that injustice. Instead, we should treat our nation’s drug epidemic as a health crisis and less as a ‘lock ‘em up and throw away the key’ problem.”Read more