Senator Rand Paul took nearly an hour to push his legislation to end foreign aid to Egypt, Libya, and Pakistan. He threatened a filibuster to hold all legislation until his legislation came up for debate and a vote.
His legislation, unlike most legislation in Washington, is fairly simply, short and straightforward. S.3576 reads in part:
(a) Prohibition- No amounts may be obligated or expended to provide any direct United States assistance, loan guarantee, or debt relief to a Government described under subsection (b).
(b) Covered Governments- The Governments referred to in subsection (a) are as follows:
(1) The Government of Libya.
(2) The Government of Egypt.
(3) The Government of Pakistan.
(4) The Government of a host country of a United States diplomatic facility on the list submitted to Congress pursuant to subsection (c).
Paul stated on the Senate floor:
“In no way should the United States government be sending money to governments who are not our ally, who blatantly do not respect our country, and who work to compromise the safety of our allies and citizens abroad. I am pleased that the Senate leadership has listened to my pleas for an end to this and have agreed to debate and vote on this pressing issue.”
Senator Paul took the opportunity of the attacks on the embassies to bring up the legislation, which should have bolstered support, but it didn’t. American tax dollars (that’s right, yours and mine) are funneled around the world to various countries and it’s not just Democrats doing it. Republicans are involved as well.
It appears our Senators are perfectly comfortable with aiding countries in which governments like the Muslim Brotherhood preside and where our embassies are attacked. Furthermore, it seems that it is no skin off their teeth since it isn’t their money going to aid these countries. Rather it’s ours. Shame on the U.S. Senate!
Listen to Senator Paul’s speech on the Senate Floor on Friday:
