WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) was elected as ranking member of the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC).
“The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s mission of oversight and investigations is critical to Congress reasserting itself, and, as Ranking Member, I look forward to continuing the storied history of this committee’s leadership in consequential bipartisan oversight and investigations. Given the committee’s duty to conduct oversight over the entire government, I remain hopeful that we will pursue robust and bipartisan investigations into government censorship and the origins of COVID,” said Dr. Paul.
Throughout his time in the Senate, Dr. Paul has been a leading voice for government oversight and accountability. He has a proven track record of exposing waste, fraud, and abuse in government, and working to ensure that taxpayer dollars are being used efficiently and effectively.
Since being elected to the Senate in 2010, Dr. Paul has advocated against government overreach and fought tirelessly to return government to its limited, constitutional scope.
He has fought to put a stop to ‘business as usual’ in Washington by exposing government waste year after year through his Waste and Festivus Reports. He has been unafraid to rein in unelected bureaucrats at all levels of government, who have largely taken advantage of taxpayer money and resources.
Under his leadership in previous sessions of Congress, Dr. Paul’s HSGAC subcommittees have examined: the effect of the multi-trillion dollar national debt on today’s federal budget and the potential consequences for the future; the costs associated with unauthorized military engagements abroad; America’s presence and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan; the budgetary effects of continuing resolutions, massive omnibus spending bills, and shutdown crises; wasteful “use it or lose it” year-end spending by federal agencies; the integrity of FEMA’s preparedness grant programs; the disjointed and fragmented federal research grants enterprise; and the Department of Homeland Security’s policies regarding warrantless searches of electronic devices at America’s international borders.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Paul has led the charge to investigate the origins of COVID-19 and put a stop to risky virus enhancing gain-of-function research in China. As ranking member of HSGAC’s subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight, Dr. Paul led the first Congressional hearing into gain-of-function research, exposing the national security risks and dangers of continuing to participate in it.
For the past two years, Dr. Paul served as ranking member of the Senate Small Business Committee where he led calls to investigate fraud and abuse into the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and other pandemic related programs.
Dr. Paul’s appointment to this key committee position is a testament to his reputation as a champion for fiscal responsibility and government accountability. He will use this role to continue his efforts to protect taxpayers and promote government efficiency, and to ensure that the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee remains focused on its core mission of oversight.
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