Oh so now Rand Paul wants disaster aid
from the federal government?
December 13, 2021

After a string of tornadoes
decimated large swaths of Kentucky,
Rand Paul leaped into action.

"As the sun comes up this morning
we will begin to understand the
true scope of the devastation, but
we already know of loss of life and
severe property damage," the Kentucky
Republican Senator wrote to President
Joe Biden. "The Governor of the
Commonwealth has requested federal
assistance this morning, and certainly
further requests will be coming as the
situation is assessed. I fully support
those requests and ask that you move
expeditiously to approve the
appropriate resources for our state."
Which makes sense. Disaster relief is
a place where the federal government
can make a real difference --
particularly in the early stages of
the aftermath as residents (and even
state government) may be struggling to
get back on its feet.

The problem? Well, Paul has made
something of a career out of opposing
disaster relief in places other than
Kentucky.

In 2013, he opposed a disaster relief
measure for the Northeast following
the devastation caused by Superstorm
Sandy. "I would have given them 9
billion and I would've taken the 9
billion from somewhere else," Paul
explained at the time, citing the
price tag for the measure. "I would
have taken it from foreign aid and
said, 'You know what, we don't have
money for Egypt or Pakistan this
year because we have to help the
Northeast."

Four years later, Paul voted against
relief funds for the victims of
Hurricane Harvey, which struck
Louisiana and Texas. The Senate voted
against an amendment offered by Paul
that would have funded the Harvey
relief efforts with money previously
allocated for foreign aid.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/13/politics/rand-paul-disaster-relief-kentuc
ky/index.html