Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is unveiling a blueprint to divert unspent foreign aid to cover hurricane relief and cleanup costs, an “America First” proposal to spend U.S. taxpayer money where it is needed most, Secrets has learned..
Republican Paul, who has in the past targeted billions of tax dollars shipped to anti-American nations like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, is eyeing an amendment to the proposed package to raise the debt ceiling and fund Hurricane Harvey relief.
“As the Senate prepares to vote on hurricane aid, I will be introducing an ‘America First’ amendment to cut wasteful spending from abroad to pay for much-needed relief here at home,” said Paul. “Moving forward, any new spending should be paid for,” he added.
The funds would come from foreign aid not already spent, about $20 billion.
Paul’s proposal would fund the estimated $10 billion relief of Hurricane Harvey, potentially Hurricane Irma and FEMA. It is conceivable that it could be expanded to include money to deal with incoming “monster” Irma, scheduled to hit the Florida Keys this weekend.
“This is a perfect marriage of America First and cutting off aid to those who gleefully burn the American flag,” said an advisor, calling it the “America First Amendment!”
President Trump, who is tight with Paul, has not indicated how he wants to pay for the hurricane relief but has made America First the theme of his administration.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
