Sen. Rand Paul skewers spending on coked-up quails and wind-blown lizards

Posted by Justin Goodman
24 December 2018 | Blog, Transparency


In his new ”Seinfeld”-themed Waste Report, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY)–a 2017 WCW Waste Warrior awardee— highlights some egregious government boondoggles that are, sadly, no joke.

This year’s installment includes $75,691 wasted by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to blast lizards with high-powered leaf blowers and $874,503 spent by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study the sexual habits of quails on cocaine.

As WCW told the Independent Journal Review,

From blasting lizards with leaf blowers to hooking horny quails on cocaine, Senator Rand Paul’s Waste Report provides a crucial roadmap for identifying reckless federal programs that belong on the chopping block, including some of the $15 billion in tax dollars wasted on animal experiments each year. This annual catalog of boondoggles is one of the many reasons why we’re proud to recognize Sen. Paul in 2017 with our Waste Warrior award.

Sen. Paul is also leading efforts to increase transparency about spending on these kinds of wasteful projects, including by securing a federal audit of violations of spending disclosure laws first uncovered by WCW.

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