By DON SERGENT [email protected]
Even as his colleagues in Congress move closer to approving a $40 billion aid package for war-torn Ukraine, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Bowling Green, isn’t backing down on his stance of questioning the spending.
Paul, consistent with his libertarian tendencies when dealing with international entanglements and spending, last week denied the unanimous Senate approval needed for rapid passage of the Ukraine aid measure. On Monday, he stood by that vote during a stop in Bowling Green.
“I think it’s important that somebody ask the question: ‘Where does this money come from?’ ” Paul said after meeting with business leaders at the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce. “It’s one thing to have sympathy for Ukraine. I do.
“I think it’s awful what (Russian leader Vladimir) Putin has done. But the money, the $40 billion, we don’t have it. There’s no money in Washington, D.C. It’s all been spent.”
With a national debt that is now up to $30 trillion, Paul said significant expenditures like aid to Ukraine should be looked at carefully.
“We have to borrow money from China or ask the Federal Reserve to print it up to send it to Ukraine,” said Paul, who pointed out that Congress in March approved nearly $20 billion in aid to Ukraine. “I think there’s a middle ground where we could supply them with arms that they buy, or maybe we could provide some loans.”
At the very least, the senator said, any aid to Ukraine should come with oversight. He has called for an amendment to the spending plan that would designate a special federal watchdog to oversee how the $40 billion is spent.
“While I have great sympathy for (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskyy and think he has been a heroic figure, Ukraine has their own set of oligarchs.
“I worry about sending that money without someone overseeing it. I think most Americans want to know (how the money is spent), even if they’re sympathetic to Ukraine.”
Paul, who is seeking a third term in the Senate this year, railed against all the federal spending that took place during the pandemic, saying it has only served to fuel the inflation that is eroding the buying power of all Americans.
“We have generalized inflation now because of too much government borrowing,” Paul said. “The best way to get out of that cycle is to quit borrowing so much.”
With an inflation rate above 8% and interest rates creeping up, Paul said he is worried about a repeat of the recession of the early 1980s.
“Unfortunately, inflationary cycles like this often end with rising interest rates and a recession,” he said.
Although as consistently conservative as most of his GOP colleagues during his time in the Senate, Paul took a stance Monday that could be at odds with that of some in his party.
Reacting to the recent mass shootings in Buffalo, N.Y., and Milwaukee, Wis., Paul almost seemed in tune with gun-control advocates.
Pointing out that the Buffalo shooter had made previous threats, Paul said: “If people are terroristic threatening, there should be a way through court procedures that we can take away their ability to buy guns legally.
“There are certain people who shouldn’t have guns.”
– Follow business reporter Don Sergent on Twitter @BGDNbusiness or visit bgdailynews.com.