112th Congress (201113)
Rand Paul being sworn in as a senator by Vice President Joe Biden, along with his family, in the Old Senate Chamber in the United States Capitol building
Paul was sworn in on January 5, 2011, along with his father, who simultaneously served in the House of Representatives.[79]
Paul was assigned to serve on the Energy and Natural Resources, Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Homeland Security and Government Affairs, and Small Business committees.[80] Paul also formed the Senate Tea Party Caucus with Jim DeMint and Mike Lee as its inaugural members.[81] His first legislative proposal was to cut $500 billion from federal spending in one year. This proposal included cutting the Department of Education by 83 percent and the Department of Homeland Security by 43 percent, as well as folding the Department of Energy into the Department of Defense and eliminating the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Seven independent agencies would be eliminated and food stamps would be cut by 30 percent. Under Paul's proposal, defense spending would be reduced by 6.5 percent and international aid would be eliminated.[82] He later proposed a five-year budget plan intended to balance the budget.[83]
In February, Paul was one of two Republicans to vote against extending three key provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act (roving wiretaps, searches of business records, and conducting surveillance of "lone wolves"individuals not linked to terrorist groups).[84][85]
On March 2, Paul was one of nine senators to vote against a stopgap bill that cut $4 billion from the budget and temporarily prevent a government shutdown, saying that it did not cut enough from the budget.[86] One week later, he voted against the Democratic and Republican budget proposals to keep funding the federal government, saying that both bills did not cut enough spending. Both bills failed to pass the Senate.[87] He later voted against stopgap measures on March 17 and April 8, both of which passed the senate.[88] On April 14, He was one of 19 senators to vote against a budget that cut $38.5 billion from the budget and fund the government for the remainder of the fiscal year.[89] Paul voiced opposition to U.S. intervention in the Libyan civil war and has criticized President Obama for not gaining congressional consent for Operation Odyssey Dawn.[90] During the debt ceiling crisis, the Senator stated that he would only support raising the debt ceiling if a balanced budget amendment was enacted.[91] Paul was a supporter of the Cut, Cap and Balance Act, which was tabled by Democratic opposition.[92] On August 3, Paul voted against a bill that would raise the debt ceiling.[93]
On September 7, Paul called for a vote of no confidence in U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.[94] Later that month, Paul blocked legislation that would strengthen safety rules for oil and gas pipelines because he stated the bill was not strong enough.[95] In October, Paul blocked a bill that would provide $36 million in benefits for elderly and disabled refugees, saying that he was concerned that it could be used to aid domestic terrorists. This was in response to two alleged terrorists who came to the United States through a refugee program and were receiving welfare benefits when they were arrested in 2011 in Paul's hometown of Bowling Green.[96] Paul lifted his hold on the bill after Democratic leaders promised to hold a Congressional hearing into how individuals are selected for refugee status and request an investigation on how the two suspects were admitted in the country through a refugee program.[97]
113th Congress (201315)
For the 113th Congress, Paul was added to the Foreign Relations committee and retained his spot on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Homeland Security and Government Affairs, and Small Business committees.[98]
On March 67, 2013, Paul engaged in a filibuster to delay voting on the nomination of John O. Brennan as the Director of the CIA. Paul questioned the Obama administration's use of drones and the stated legal justification for their potential use within the United States. Paul held the floor for 12 hours and 52 minutes.[99] He ceded to several Republican senators and Democratic senator, Ron Wyden, who generally also questioned drone usage.[100][101] Paul said his purpose was to challenge drone policy in general and specifically as it related to noncombatants on U.S. soil. He requested a pledge from the Administration that noncombatants would not be targeted on U.S. soil.[102] Attorney General Eric Holder responded that the President is not authorized to deploy extrajudicial punishment without due process, against non-combatant citizens. Paul answered that he was "quite happy" with the response.[103] The filibuster was ended with a cloture vote of 81 to 16, and Brennan was confirmed by the Senate with a vote of 63 to 34.[104]
Rand Paul speaking during his filibuster on the Senate floor on March 6, 2013.
In March 2013, Paul, with Senators Ted Cruz and Mike Lee, threatened another filibuster, this one opposing any legislative proposals to expand federal gun control measures.[105] The filibuster was attempted on April 11, 2013, but was dismissed by cloture, in a 6831 vote.[106] Also in March 2013, Paul endorsed fellow Kentucky Republican Senator Mitch McConnell's 2014 re-election campaign.[107] McConnell had previously hired Paul's 2010 campaign manager, Jesse Benton, as his own campaign manager.[108] Paul's endorsement was seen as a major win for McConnell in avoiding a challenge in the Republican primary.[107]
In response to Detroit's declaration of bankruptcy, Paul stated he would not allow the government to attempt to bail out Detroit. In a phone interview with Breitbart.com on July 19, 2013, Paul said, "I basically say he is bailing them out over my dead body because we don't have any money in Washington." Paul said he thought a federal bailout would send the wrong message to other cities with financial problems.[109]
In September, Paul stated that the United States should avoid military intervention in the ongoing Syrian civil war.[110] In an op-ed, Paul disputed the Obama administration's claims that the threat of military force caused Syria's government to consider turning over its chemical weapons, instead arguing that the opposition to military action in Syria, and the delay that it caused, led to diplomatic progress.[111]
In October 2013, Paul was the subject of some controversy when it was discovered that he had plagiarized from Wikipedia part of a speech in support of Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli. Referencing the movie Gattaca, Paul quoted almost verbatim from the Wikipedia article about the film without citing the source.[112][113][114] Evidence soon surfaced that Paul had copied sentences in a number of his other speeches nearly verbatim from other authors without giving credit to the original sources,[115][116] including in the speech he had given as the Tea Party rebuttal to the president's 2013 State of the Union address. In addition, a three-page-long passage of Paul's book Government Bullies was taken directly from an article by the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation.[117][118] When it became apparent that Paul's Washington Times op-ed on mandatory minimums and related testimony he had given before the Senate Judiciary Committee both contained material that was virtually identical to an article that had been published by another author in The Week a few days earlier,[119] the Washington Times said that the newspaper would no longer publish the weekly column Paul had been contributing to the paper.[120] After a week of almost daily news reports of new allegations of plagiarism, Paul said that he was being held to an "unfair standard", but would restructure his office in order to prevent mistakes in the future, if that would be what it would take "to make people leave me the hell alone."[121]
In response to political turmoil in Ukraine in early 2014, Paul initially said that the US should remain mindful of the fact that although the Cold War is over, Russia remains a military power with long-range nuclear missiles. He said that the US should try to maintain a "respectful relationship with Russia" and avoid taking actions that the Russians might view as a provocation, such as seeking to have Ukraine join NATO or otherwise interfering in Russia's relationship with Ukraine.[122] Two weeks later, after the Russian parliament authorized the use of military force in Ukraine[123] and Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered military exercises along Russia's border with Ukraine,[124] Paul began taking a different tone.[125] He wrote: "Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine is a gross violation of that nation's sovereignty and an affront to the international community.... Putin must be punished for violating the Budapest Memorandum, and Russia must learn that the U.S. will isolate it if it insists on acting like a rogue nation."[126] He said that the US and European allies could retaliate against Russia's military aggression without any need for military action. He urged that the US impose economic sanctions on Russia and resume an effort to build defensive anti-missile installations in Poland and the Czech Republic. He also called for the US to take steps as a counterweight to Russia's strategic influence on Europe's oil and gas supply, such as lifting restrictions on new exploration and drilling for fossil fuels in the United States along with immediate approval of the controversial Keystone Pipeline, which he said would allow the US to ship more oil and gas to Europe if Russia attempts to cut off its own supply to Europe.[126]
Paul played a leading role in blocking a treaty with Switzerland that would enable the IRS to conduct tax evasion probes, arguing that the treaty would infringe upon Americans' privacy.[127] Paul received the 2014 Distinguished Service Award from the Center for the National Interest (formally called the Nixon Center) for his public policy work.[128]
In response to reports that the CIA infiltrated the computers of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Paul called for the firing of CIA Director John O. Brennan.[129] In December 2014, Paul supported the actions to change the US policy towards Cuba and trade with that country taken by the Obama administration.[130]
114th Congress (2015present)
In the beginning of 2015, Senator Paul re-introduced the Federal Reserve Transparency Act.[131] Senator Paul also introduced the FAIR Act, or Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration Act, which would restrict civil forfeiture proceedings.[132]
On May 20, 2015, Paul spoke for ten and a half hours in opposition to the reauthorization of Section 215 of the Patriot Act.[133][134] Sections of the Patriot Act were prevented from being reauthorized on June 1.[135]
Committee assignments
Current
Committee on Foreign Relations (starting 2013)
United States Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on International Operations and Organizations, Human Rights, Democracy and Global Women's Issues (Chairman)
United States Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs
United States Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on International Development and Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs and International Environmental Protection, and Peace Corps
United States Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere and Global Narcotics Affairs
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (starting 2011)
United States Senate Health Subcommittee on Children and Families
United States Senate Health Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (starting 2011)
United States Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Management, Intergovernmental Relations, and the District of Columbia (Chairman)
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
United States Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee on the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Federal Programs and the Federal Workforce
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship (starting 2011)
