opinion

Rand Paul: Kentucky remains priority one

If you haven’t heard already, I’m running for president. But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m your senator, and that my number one priority is doing the job I was elected to do and serving you.

Being a senator means being a strong voice for your constituents. It means proposing bills and amendments that advocate for your issues, concerns, and priorities. I go beyond that, and I lead, by proposing bold new ideas to solve our biggest problems.

Washington has waged war on our Kentucky way of life my entire time in the Senate. And I have stood up each and every time to fight for Kentucky. I have forged alliances and gone it alone. I have worked with both sides and fought both sides.

I have done what I said I would do early and often. I’ve battled President Obama’s job-killing anti-coal policies, and am still working every day to end his EPA’s War on Coal. I continue to work on behalf of the Paducah community to meet their needs at the Department of Energy site and fight for your freedom to fish in Western Kentucky.

And I’m doing it while keeping one very important thing in mind. Your dollars. Since I took office in 2011, I have returned $1.8 million from my office back to the Treasury. A true conservative believes in being conservative all the time, and your taxpayer dollars are no exception.

In addition to being responsible with your tax dollars, I also believe Washington needs to be responsible about our debt. That's why I proposed the Cut Cap and Balance Act of 2015, which would cut the deficit in half this year. Action is desperately needed to address our nation’s debt crisis – our national debt currently stands at $18.4 trillion. We cannot keep piling debt on top of debt forever.

Recently I also introduced a resolution to help us fight Obama’s war on coal and Kentucky jobs. It says that any agreement coming from the United Nations climate negotiations is a treaty and must be approved by the supermajority required by the constitution. The president is dead set on using executive action to pursue his liberal agenda, and Kentuckians deserve to have someone fighting for their jobs and livelihoods in Washington. With my resolution, the president would have to find 67 votes in the Senate for his climate agenda – which is something he cannot do.

Additionally, this year I introduced the Economic Freedom Zones Act to help areas with crippling unemployment. Designating an area as an Economic Freedom Zone would dramatically reduce the area’s taxes in order to facilitate the creation of new jobs, entrepreneurial opportunities, enhance and renew educational opportunities, and increase community involvement. The total benefit to Kentucky is approximately $129 million per year, and $1.3 billion over 10 years.

I want to see Kentucky grow and improve, which is why I pushed for the legalization of industrial hemp here. Allowing our farmers to cultivate industrial hemp and benefit from its many uses will boost our economy, bring much-needed jobs to Kentucky’s farmers, and allow us to lead in this industry.

I’ve also led the charge on criminal justice reform. I re-introduced the Civil Rights Voting Restoration Act to restore federal voting rights for non-violent ex-offenders, and I worked with my colleagues across the aisle to re-introduce the REDEEM Act, which proposes wide-sweeping criminal justice reform.

When I’m in Washington working on legislation and being your voice, our office is working around the clock to serve the needs of everyone. From helping Kentuckians cut through government red tape, to making sure your local issues find their way to my desk, our staff’s hard work can be seen all across the Commonwealth.

Even when I’m not physically in the state or speaking on the floor of the Senate, I am hard at work for you.

Kentucky is and always has been my priority, which is why I have a nearly perfect attendance record in the Senate - something not many of my colleagues can say about themselves. I know my job is to be your voice in Washington, and I work hard to make sure Kentucky gets the representation it deserves.

From taking your concerns and turning them into tangible results to just simply listening to what you want to see done to move our country in a better direction, I take great pride in being your senator, and I hope you will continue to support me as I try to accomplish your goals for the Commonwealth and our nation.