Rand Paul's 'Festivus' report calls out cocaine dogs, COVID influencers and a mountain of debt

By Fox News · Fox News

Congress’ top fiscal hawk is back with his yearly government waste report card, this time uncovering over $1.6 trillion in spending on cocaine experiments on dogs, COVID-19 vaccine influencer campaigns and staggering yearly debt payments. Sen. Rand Paul , R-Ky., unveiled his 11th annual "Festivus Report" on Tuesday, detailing the wonky ways that the federal government dumps taxpayer dollars into pet projects. Paul has long been against Congress’ spending habits, routinely voting against appropriations bills and spending packages for not trying to tackle the nation’s growing debt problem . His report highlights that even with several lawmakers pounding their chests on Washington’s spending problem, Congress can’t help but spend more. DEMOCRATS' LAST-MINUTE MOVE TO BLOCK GOP FUNDING PLAN SENDS LAWMAKERS HOME EARLY "No matter how much taxpayer money Washington burns through, politicians can’t help but demand more," Paul said. "Fiscal responsibility may not be the most crowded road, but it’s one I’ve walked year after year — and this holiday season will be no different. So, before we get to the Feats of Strength, it’s time for my Airing of (Spending) Grievances." He lauded moves taken by the Trump administration to slash government spending, like the nearly $9 billion rescissions package that slashed funding for public broadcasting and some foreign aid, Paul said that while the action was "a good start, it’s just a drop in the bucket." Paul noted that in the last year, the federal debt has skyrocketed to nearly $40 trillion, up from roughly $36 trillion. RAND PAUL'S 'FESTIVUS REPORT' EXPOSES $900B IN GOVERNMENT SQUANDER "The Congressional Budget Office predicts we will add an average of $23.9 trillion in debt annually for the next decade. The U.S. government will add over $6.53 billion of debt every single day for the next ten years," Paul said. "We borrow over $272 million every hour, we borrow $4.54 million every minute, and we borrow over $75,000 every second." "Thi…