Dr. Paul Releases 2024 ‘Festivus’ Report on Government Waste (12/23/24)

• Homeland Security Government Affairs Committee Press Release: hsgac.senate.gov/media/…

• Full Report (PDF, 41 pages): hsgac.senate.gov/wp-con…

Dr. Paul Releases 2024 ‘Festivus’ Report on Government Waste

U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released the tenth edition “Festivus” Report, totaling $1,008,313,329,626.12 in government waste for 2024. The full report includes references.

From the full report’s content summary…

• Ghost Towns on the Government's Dime: The federal government spent $10 billion on maintaining, leasing, and furnishing almost entirely empty buildings

• A Pandemic Plunder: A Florida man stole $8 million in COVID-19 Relief funds to buy an island and more

• Your Tax Dollars at Play: The Department of the Interior (DOI) spent $12 Million on a Las Vegas Pickleball Complex

• Taxpayers Fund a Disinformation Index: The Department of State (DOS) wasted $330,000 to fund censorship of non-liberal and conservative media

• Snack Attack: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded a $2 million grant to study kids looking at Facebook ads about food

• Taxpayers Dollars Down the Drain in Nevis: The Department of State (DOS) spent $108,272 on a non-functioning hotel

• Direct File Fail: Congress spent $15 million to turn the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) into an unconstitutional force to prepare, file, and audit your hard-earned money

• Oh Rats! HHS Spends Nearly Half a Million on a Depressing Study of Lonely, Starved Rats: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) spent $419,470 to determine if lonely rats seek cocaine more than happy rats

• Hold on to Your Steering Wheels: The Department of Energy (DOE) spent $15.5 billion to push Americans toward electric vehicles they don't want

• The Influencer Effect Hits Foreign Policy: The Department of State (DOS) squandered $4,840,082 on influencers

• Cirque du Taxpayer: The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) spent $365,000 to promote circuses in city parks

• Girls Just Wanna Have Funds: The Department of State (DOS) spent $3 Million for 'Girl-Centered Climate Action' in Brazil

• A State Department Production Featuring Your Hard-Earned Money: The Department of State (DOS) paid the Royal Film Commission $873,584 for movies in Jordan

• Goalposts and Grandstanding: The Department of State (DOS) spent $345,434 on football engagement to counter terrorism

• When Bailouts Go Bust: The United States Department of the Treasury (USDT) granted a failed trucking company a $700 million pandemic-era loan

• Flocking Together! DEI Takes Flight: The National Science Foundation (NSF) spent $288,563 to ensure bird watching groups have safe spaces aka "Affinity Groups"

• Interest-ingly Wasteful: Americans are paying $892 billion in fiscal year 2024 on the interest on Uncle Sam's Credit Card

• Hashtag to Handouts in Ethiopia: The Department of State (DOS) spent $500,000 to expand the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia's #USInvestsInEthiopians social media campaign to a larger national public relations campaign

• Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo, There Goes Your Tax Dollars Too! The federal government spent $7,026,689 on various magical projects

• Because Who Needs a Secure U.S. Border, Anyway? The Department of State (DOS) spent $2.1 million for Paraguayan Border Security

• The High Price of High Line Art: Since 2015 the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has awarded $385,000 for art displays on the High Line

• Money to Manure: The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is spending $20 million on the Fertilize Right Initiative to advance fertilizer use in Pakistan, Vietnam, Colombia, and Brazil

• Fauci Funded Feline COVID Experiments: The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) spent $2.24 million on COVID experiments

• Going Viral for World Peace: The Department of State (DOS) is spending $123,066 to teach Kyrgyzstan youth how to go viral

• Spinning Kittens for Science and Motion Sickness: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) spent $1,513,299 on a study of waste and cruelty

• Cat-Stipated ?: The Department of Defense (DOD) spent $10,851,439 on Orwellian cat experiments

• More Ducking Waste in Mexico: The Department of the Interior (DOI) spent $720,479 on wetland conservation projects for ducks in Mexico

• Big Bird Goes to Baghdad: The Agency for International Development (USAID) is spending $20 million on "Ahlan Simsim" a new Sesame Street show in Iraq

• News We Wish Was Fake: The Department of State (DOS) sent $253,653 to Bosnia to fight "misinformation"

• Abandon Ship: The Navy Sinks Billions on LCS Vessels: The U.S. Navy is set to waste almost $90 billion on ineffective Navy vessels

• Dragging Tax Dollars onto Thin Ice: The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) awarded the Bearded Ladies Cabaret a $10,000 grant to support a cabaret show on ice skates focused on climate change

• Taxpayers Get Spun: The Department of State (DOS) allocated $32,596.12 for breakdancing

Related:

• Idaho Freedom Foundation 2024 Pork Report: substack.com/profile/68…