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I spent the week working tirelessly in our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C, before returning to Kentucky to meet with constituents today. Below you will find an update on the past week.

Eliminate Foreign Aid To Egypt

I took to the Senate floor to re-introduce my proposed amendment to eliminate foreign aid to Egypt until the Egyptian government ceases the prosecution of U.S. citizens. The amendment also recoups the bail money paid to free the American pro-democracy workers last month. You can click HERE or on the picture below to watch video of my floor speech.

Following my attempt to introduce this amendment, I issued a letter to President Barack Obama highlighting the State Department’s release of foreign aid funds to Egypt, which I previously urged against doing in a March 15 letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

In this letter to President Obama, I strongly urged the President to reverse his State Department’s decision to send aid to Egypt, and to hold all aid until the politically motivated prosecution of U.S. citizens has ended. You can read the letter by clicking HERE.

Taxpayers Outraged by the GSA’s Wasteful Spending

In light of recent news reports about extravagant spending by government agencies, I issued a letter to House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) requesting an investigation into special permissions granted by the Administration for government agency conferences. Click HERE to read a copy of my letter to Chairman Issa.

Buffett Tax Hike

This week, Americans’ final tax bill for 2011 will be due. We will also celebrate “Tax Freedom Day,” where Americans finally stop working to send money to Washington and start keeping some for themselves. That’s why it’s appalling that Senate Democrats chose this week to show how out of touch with America they are by demanding a vote to increase taxes on our nation’s job creators.

Surely our nation’s tax system is broken and in dire need of reform. Yet, the Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats’ idea of reform is a Buffett Tax hike that has nothing to do with balancing our budget, lowering unemployment or simplifying the tax code – but everything to do with funding more reckless spending in Washington.

If we are going to solve our nation’s debt crisis, restore the struggling economy, and put people back to work we need the kind of reform in this country that simplifies the tax code and reduces the burden for everyone, instead of going in the opposite direction as the Obama Administration has shown in promoting this convoluted legislation.

Roundtable with the National Association of Manufacturers

I met with members of the National Association of Manufacturers from all across Kentucky at GM’s Corvette plant in Bowling Green for a “Congressional Dialogue.” Whether they manufacture paper or high performance sports cars, plant managers are concerned about the regulatory environment, tax policies and workforce issues. We had a very candid conversation about the challenges they face and some of the legislative initiatives I am working on in DC to bring about some relief. I really enjoy the give-and-take of this type of meeting and always learn a great deal from leaders in their fields.

(Sen. Rand Paul with members of the National Association of Manufacturers at the Corvette plant in Bowling Green, KY. 04/20/12)

Media Wrap-Up

I appeared on Fox Business’ Your World with Neil Cavuto to speak with David Asman regarding wasteful spending by the GSA.

Also this week I also spoke with several Kentucky radio stations including: WEZJ’s Kip Jervis and Cathy Hall in Williamsburg, and WKDP’s Frank Gaffney in Corbin, as well as those across the country

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You can find updates on what I’m doing by visiting my Senate website,www.paul.senate.gov and you can follow my official Twitter account HERE. You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel HERE. Don’t forget to become a fan of my official Facebook page for other timely updates.

Warm Regards,