Republican Senator Rand Paul has lashed out at what he describes as a huge gap between Congress' priorities and those of normal US constituents, especially when it comes to funding programs.
Speaking to Fox News, Paul argued that there’s an “enormous disconnect between those in Washington and those on the ground, like in Kentucky,” his home state which was hit by “severe” flooding in late July in which 40 people died and “hundreds of homes were lost”.
The Republican pointed to a total $54 billion dollars of funding that Washington has reportedly sent to Kiev since the beginning of Russia’s ongoing special operation to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine on February 24. According to the senator, this sharply contrasts with the fact that Kentucky and much of Appalachia has struggled with serious infrastructure issues for decades.
“I was just out there,” Paul claimed. “Not one person said, ‘Can you please send more money to Ukraine?’ They said, 'How come we're a rich country and we're having trouble digging our ditches, repairing our roads and all of the basic functions of government?'”
“And yet in Washington, it's not just Democrats. You've got Democrats and all the Republican leadership lining up saying, ‘Please send more of our money to Ukraine,’ but I'm not hearing it at home at all,” he said.
Paul suggested that billions of taxpayer dollars pertaining to foreign assistance could be better spent at home on infrastructure-related issues, adding that these hefty sums could also help Americans ride out soaring inflation and energy crisis.
Referring to the US’ total national debt, Paul said, “We're $30 trillion in the hole and it's inflationary”. According to him, “You borrow more money to buy weapons. It also causes inflation. And so really what I hear still around Kentucky and around the U.S. is, 'My gas costs so much. We can't go on vacation this year. The groceries cost so much [….]”.
In an apparent nod to constituents, the senator argued that, “They all instinctively know this is from the massive debts, the massive borrowing, and the huge COVID lockdowns and all the mistakes that were foisted upon us by Democrats, by Biden, by the Democrat Congress.” Paul warned that he thinks that “there's a huge wave building”.
The remarks followed US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announcing that the White House had approved another $675 million in military assistance to Kiev, which includes howitzers, shells, Humvees, armored ambulances and anti-tank systems, among other weapons and munitions. Moscow has repeatedly warned Washington that supplying Kiev with arms will only prolong and aggravate the Ukraine conflict.