Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is facing backlash over his course reversal regarding the federal disaster aid for his home state after previously opposing the aid for other regions that have struggled to recover from other disasters.
Over the weekend, various tornadoes rocked several Midwestern states, including Kentucky. The storms had destroyed the majority of towns and left as many as 70 people believed to have been killed in Western Kentucky.
Federal Disaster Aid
Sen. Paul shared a photo of the letter that he sent to the Biden administration where he was requesting "expeditious approval" of a request for federal disaster aid. The letter was a previous request made by Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.
While these kinds of requests are common, wherein senators in states who are struggling with natural disasters, Paul is facing backlash because he previously opposed federal disaster relief for several affected regions throughout his Senate career, ABC News reported.
Sen. Paul's letter to United States President Joe Biden's administration wrote that the Republican was fully supporting the requests of the Governor of the Commonwealth. But in 2013, the Kentucky senator opposed a disaster relief measure meant for the Northeast after Superstorm Sandy's devastating events.
At the time, the Kentucky senator said that he was willing to give the area $9 billion and work out on getting the money somewhere else. He said that he would have taken it from foreign aid, citing that he would have decided to reduce funds for Egypt or Pakistan in that year due to the dire need of the Northeast.
In 2017, Paul also voted against relief funds meant for victims of Hurricane Harvey, which devastated Louisiana and Texas. However, the Senate later voted against an amendment by the Kentucky senator that would have used previously allocated money for foreign aid to fund the Harvey relief efforts, CNN reported.
Opposition to Relief Efforts
Paul's efforts in 2017 also included the opposition of a $36.5 billion disaster aid bill that aimed to support victims of hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria and various wildfires in California. At the time, the Kentucky senator argued that some people claimed they had compassion for their fellow countrymen and were trying to use someone else's money.
In addition to opposing nearly every single federal disaster aid in the last ten years, Paul has also been opposed to coronavirus relief measures. This includes the first pandemic response act, which was passed in March 2020 with a majority of 96-1 vote, the only one to vote no.
Paul also opposed a 2020 bill that sought to support first responders that were still struggling from the effects of the Sep.9, 2011, terrorist attack. Earlier this year, the Kentucky senator blocked accelerated passage of the Gulf Coast Hurricane Aid Act that aimed to aid victims of various storms in Louisiana, leaving it still pending.
But despite his selective opposition to various spending efforts, he voted in favor of the 2017 tax cuts, which was one of the largest budget-busting measures in recent history. Yahoo Finance reported that it passed in the Senate without a single Republican voting in opposition or a single Democrat voting in favor.
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