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Cocaine rats, cat experiments and a pickleball complex: The most unusual things in Rand Paul's government's wastefulness report

The Kentucky senator has a Christmas tradition of releasing a “Festivus” report. This year was no exception.

The Kentucky senator presents this report every year/ Mandel Ngan.AFP

Published by
Joaquín Núñez

Family gatherings, hearty meals and gift opening are some of the holiday traditions around this time of year across the country. On Capitol Hill, the "Festivus" report by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) must be added to that list. As he does every year, the Kentucky Republican unveiled the federal government's "wastefulness."

The 2024 edition featured 41 pages in which Senator Paul listed the federal government's most unusual spending items.

According to his calculations, the total waste amounted to $1,008,313,329,626.12, or more than $1 trillion.

"That’s over $1 trillion in government waste, including things like ice-skating drag queens, a $12 Million Las Vegas pickleball complex, $4,840,082 on Ukrainian influencers, and more! No matter how much money the government has wasted, politicians keep demanding even more," Paul explained.

The Republican also warned that these spending levels are not sustainable, and even less so with the current federal debt. The Congressional Budget Office predicted that the country will add an annual average of $2.1 trillion in debt over the next decade.

"According to a July House Budget Committee Report, the U.S. government will add over $6.4 billion of debt every single day for the next ten years, borrowing over $268 million every hour, $4.5 million every minute, and over $74,401 every second," the senator added in his report.

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Highlights of Rand Paul's wasteful report

  • $10 billion to maintain, rent and furnish nearly vacant buildings.
  • $12 million on a pickleball complex in Las Vegas.
  • $419,470 to determine whether lonely rats seek cocaine more than happy ones.
  • $2 million to a grant to study children who watch Facebook ads about food.
  • $4.8 million on influencers.
  • $10.8 million on "Orwellian experiments" on cats.
  • $90 billion on ineffective ships.
  • $500,000 to expand the #USInvestsInEthiopians campaign of the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia.
  • $3 million for "Girls-Centered Climate Action" in Brazil.
  • $20 million for a new "Sesame Street" show in Iraq.
  • $10,000 for the "Bearded Ladies Cabaret," an ice-skating show focused on climate change.
  • $65,000 for circuses in urban parks.
  • $32,500 for "breakdancing."
  • $330,000 to censor conservative media.
  • $720,000 for duck conservation in Mexico.
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