Each year around the holiday season, Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul is renowned for spotlighting the wasteful and thoughtless ways in which the federal government spends your money. Santa delivered him a gift so large that it had to be displayed on a stage.

In this example, “Santa” consists of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. They helped arrange an agreement wherein a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package would likely pass both the House and Senate before the Christmas break, with some Republican votes in the Senate to ensure the process does not stall.

“The legislation includes $772.5 billion for non-defense discretionary programs and $858 billion in defense funding, according to a bill summary from Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy, chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations,” CNN reported Tuesday.

“The sweeping package includes roughly $45 billion in emergency assistance to Ukraine and NATO allies, boosts in spending for disaster aid, college access, child care, mental health and food assistance, more support for the military and veterans and additional funds for the US Capitol Police, according to Leahy’s summary and one from Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee. It also includes several major Medicaid provisions, including one that could disenroll up to 19 million people from the nation’s health insurance program for low-income Americans.”

Keep in mind that the unread copy of “Gravity’s Rainbow” by Thomas Pynchon that has been languishing on your library shelf for a decade has just over a thousand pages. The Pelosi-Schumer-McConnell measure is nearly 4,000 pages lengthy and written in language so impenetrable that it makes the text of “Goodnight Moon” appear transparent. Before the 23rd of December, when federal financing expires, Congress is anticipated to move swiftly to adopt this legislation.

Paul, ever the scourge of the establishment, rolled out the “toxic” plan in front of reporters so they could get a sense of what 4,000 pages of hurriedly drafted legislative profligacy look like.

“I brought with me the omni, 4,155 pages. When was it produced? In the dead of the night — 1:30 in the morning when it was released,” Paul said.

“Now people argue it is conservatives’ fault, you don’t have the Christmas spirit, and somehow you’re holding up the government,” he continued. “Well, whose job is it to produce this? The people in charge of spending. The people in charge of both of the parties.

“When did they know that this would be necessary? Well, it is in the law. Sept. 30. You’ve got nine months, almost ten months to produce a plan. They weren’t ready on Sept. 30, so they voted themselves 90 more days. They weren’t ready last week either, so they voted themselves another week. And now we have it at 1:30 in the morning this morning.

“But what’s the clamor? The clamor is to vote! ‘Vote now! Let’s get it done. Why are you standing in the way of spending?’” he continued.

I brought along the 1.7 trillion, 4,000+ page Pelosi-Schumer omnibus spending bill that's being fast-tracked through the Senate. This process stinks. It's an abomination. It's a no good rotten way to run government. We're standing up and saying NO. pic.twitter.com/Wom6xKEeQh

— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) December 20, 2022

“Well, the real question is this: What is more dangerous to the country — $1.1 trillion in new debt or, as Republican leadership likes to say, ‘Oh, it is a win! It is a big win. We’re getting $45 billion for the military’?” Paul asked.

More on this story via The Western Journal:

“So which is more important? Which threatens the country more? Are we at risk from being invaded by a foreign power if we don’t put $45 billion into the military? Are we more at risk by adding to a $31 trillion debt?” CONTINUE READING…