Scorecard 118-1

During consideration of the bill (S. 316) to repeal the 1991 and 2002 authorizations for the use of military force against Iraq, Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) offered an amendment to repeal the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force. Enacted in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the 2001 AUMF authorized the president to use military force against the terrorists involved, including those who aided and harbored them, and was used as the legal authority for U.S. military entry into Afghanistan. But that was more than 20 years ago. Since that time, the 2001 AUMF has been used by presidents as a blank check for military interventions in more than 20 countries, from Afghanistan to Libya, Somalia, and Yemen.

The Senate rejected Paul’s amendment on March 22, 2023 by a vote of 9 to 86 (Roll Call 65). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the Constitution does not give the president a blank check to go to war without congressional approval.

S. J. Res. 10 would reverse the September 2022 Department of Veterans Affairs rule allowing medical benefit coverage for abortion counseling and procedures. This rule overturned longstanding VA regulations excluding abortion from its coverage.

The Senate rejected S. J. Res. 10 on April 19, 2023 by a vote of 48 to 51 (Roll Call 90). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because taxpayers should not be required to subsidize abortion services. The Declaration of Independence affirms the right to life as the most fundamental, God-given, and inherent right, which is further protected by the Fifth and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

S. 870 would authorize $95 million annually through fiscal 2030 for the U.S. Fire Administration, increasing the agency’s funding levels by 24 percent. Among other provisions, S. 870 would authorize $3.4 million to create standards for assessing new firefighting technologies, reauthorize through fiscal 2030 two Federal Emergency Management Agency grant programs assisting local fire departments, and ban Chinese entities from receiving any of these funds.

The Senate passed S. 870 on April 20, 2023 by a vote of 95 to 2 (Roll Call 94). We have assigned pluses to the nays because Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution does not authorize any federal spending for firefighting. Furthermore, the strings that come attached to grants for local fire departments move the United States closer to federalizing firefighting.

During consideration of the bipartisan debt-limit deal (H.R. 3746), Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) offered a substitute amendment to increase the debt limit by $500 billion (rather than suspend the limit through January 1, 2025) and limit federal outlays to $4.8 trillion for fiscal 2024, decreasing this limit annually by five percent through fiscal 2028, at $3.9 trillion. Among other provisions, Paul’s amendment would require the Office of Management and Budget to report annually whether actual outlays exceeded these limits and, if so, require the president to issue a sequestration order to cut spending by the same amount as the excess spending.

The Senate rejected Paul’s amendment on June 1, 2023 by a vote of 21 to 75 (Roll Call 136). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because runaway, deficit-laden federal spending, most of which is unconstitutional, must be brought under control, and Paul’s proposal would have been a step in the right direction.

H.R. 3746, titled the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, would suspend the debt limit through January 1, 2025 and create caps on “discretionary” spending for fiscal years 2024 and 2025. In fiscal 2024, defense spending would increase three percent, to $886.4 billion, and nondefense spending would decrease five percent, to $703.7 billion; both limits would increase by one percent for fiscal 2025. Among multiple other provisions, H.R. 3746 would provide $44.8 billion for the veterans’ toxic exposure fund and $22 billion for a Commerce Department fund, rescind $27.7 billion in unspent federal Covid-related funds, rescind $1.4 billion of the $79.3 billion provided in 2022 for IRS enforcement, enact time limits on environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act, and raises the age of SNAP work requirements for able-bodied individuals to 55 while exempting certain other groups. Furthermore, the bill requires discretionary spending to decrease by one percent if Congress fails to enact on-time appropriations legislation for fiscal years 2024 and 2025. In an April 28, 2023 op-ed opposing a previous iteration of the bill, Representative Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) stated, “Going off the cliff at the Republicans’ 60-mph or the Democrats’ 80-mph results in the same thing: A horrific crash.”

The Senate passed H.R. 3746 on June 1, 2023 by a vote of 63 to 36 (Roll Call 146). We have assigned pluses to the nays because continuing reckless spending and debt accumulation will result in economic catastrophe, and most federal spending is for programs not authorized by the Constitution.